Tiddlers Pre-School & Chuckles

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are greeted warmly by staff when they arrive. Staff liaise with parents about children and share important information. For example, staff clarify words to use with children from their home language to support their understanding.

Children are safe, happy and settle quickly. They develop strong bonds with their key person and staff are good role models. Children benefit from a broad and ambitious curriculum offered by staff.

This enables children to practise a range of skills to promote their development. For example, they chat and play well together as they bathe the dolls. They say, 'I need a small towel' an...d 'Here's a small one' as they pass it, demonstrating good social skills, kindness and an understanding of size.

Children are confident, active learners and they express their ideas for play. They exclaim, 'We are making a ghostbuster car.' Staff extend children's learning and seize opportunities to teach them new skills, such as how to use scissors safely.

All children make good progress, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those in receipt of additional funding. Staff swiftly identify any gaps in children's learning. They liaise with parents and refer to other professionals for advice.

Leaders allocate additional funding effectively to promote inclusivity for all children.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

Staff support children's communication and language well. They work alongside children, commenting and narrating their play.

Staff model language and ask questions to promote their thinking skills, such as 'What do we need to put out the fire?' Staff read stories to children that they know they will enjoy and will help increase their vocabulary. Children very much enjoy this time. They become absorbed in stories as staff read to them with expression and enthusiasm.

This supports children's listening and attention, literacy skills and fosters a love of books.Staff are highly attentive and responsive to children. They value children's conversations and their interactions with them are nurturing and warm.

Children are eager to tell staff their news, such as visiting the dentist. Staff actively listen and respectfully talk to children. They acknowledge children waiting to talk by saying, 'I really want to talk to you, but first I must listen to this child'.

Staff ensure children's achievements are celebrated. For instance, they write labels for children to wear, such as 'I helped tidy up.' This enables other staff and parents to praise children.

This all helps to promote children's self-esteem and sense of pride.Children with additional needs, including SEND, receive targeted support from staff. Staff agree plans and strategies with parents and other professionals to meet children's learning needs.

Staff use strategies such as visual aids to support children's communication and understanding. This helps to reduce any attainment gaps and helps children make the progress of which they are capable.Overall, staff have a good understanding of what they want children to learn.

They plan group activities as part of the curriculum to incorporate what children need to learn next. However, staff do not always implement the group activities well enough to meet the learning intentions and children's next steps. This means that some children do not make as much progress during these times.

Staff support children to understand and follow routines. For instance, staff clap their hands to signal that a change in the routine is imminent, such as tidy-up time. However, there are occasions within the routine when children sit and wait for a long time without a learning focus.

For example, at mealtimes, children wait for staff to serve food and at circle time for their song time to start. This means children are not consistently engaged in learning and causes some to become restless.Partnerships with parents are effective.

Staff ask parents about children's interests and development when they start and discuss parents' aspirations for children. This promotes a joint approach to children's learning. Parents are complimentary about the staff team.

They say their children do very well. They report that staff provide interesting activities for children, such as woodland walks out in the community. This supports children's understanding of the world.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to strengthen the implementation of the curriculum during group activities, to reflect the learning intentions for children and help them achieve their next steps in learning to maximise their progress nimprove the daily routines to ensure children do not have to sit and wait for prolonged periods of time so that children are consistently engaged in learning.

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