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Early years · Report card

Blaby Pre-School

Inspected 4 Dec 2025 · URN EY438937

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Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

Kate Scheel

What we read, and from where

Click a reading to see it highlighted in the report.

  • Achievement verified

    Expected standard

  • Behaviour, attitudes and routines verified

    Expected standard

  • Children's welfare and wellbeing verified

    Expected standard

  • Curriculum and teaching verified

    Expected standard

  • Inclusion verified

    Expected standard

  • Leadership and governance verified

    Expected standard

  • Framework verified

    Report card

  • Group verified

    Blaby Pre-School Limited

  • Inspection datesingle source

    4 Dec 2025

  • Inspectors verified

    Kate Scheel

  • Postcode verified

    LE8 4FA

  • Name on report verified

    Blaby Pre-School

  • Safeguarding verified

    Met

  • URN verified

    EY438937

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of the report

Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

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Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

  • AchievementExpected
  • Behaviour, attitudes and routinesExpected
  • Children's welfare and wellbeingExpected
  • Curriculum and teachingExpected
  • InclusionExpected
  • Leadership and governanceExpected

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+58Positivemore positive than 28% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praisepositiveskilfullyconsistentlyfeel safeconfidentenjoywarmeffective
Criticismnot alwaysdelaysconcernslimitedstrugglenot yetharmyet to

How the report reads, start to finish

Every paragraph in order, sized by length. Tap one to see it on the page.

FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical
  • Findings1287w+68
  • Leadership193w−7
  • Safeguarding51w−11
  • What needs to improve40w+43

Strengths

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

Concerns

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

No strong criticism found.

Next steps

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What the report dwells on

Topics by how often they come up, coloured by how they are described. Open one for an example.

Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages
8
Words of findings
1,571
about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level
Hard
Flesch 48, typical 43
Average sentence
16 words
Next steps
2
typical 3
Hedged sentences
5%
“some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 66%Leadership 10%Safeguarding 3%What needs to improve 2%About the inspection 20%

Full report text

Blaby Pre-School

Unique reference number (URN): EY438937 Address: Parish Church Rooms, Church Street, Blaby, LEICESTER, LE8 4FA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 25/10/2011 Registers: EYR Registered person: Blaby Pre-School Limited

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children achieve well from their starting points. Staff regularly observe children and carefully monitor their progress. Generally, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make secure progress. For example, children understand sensory prompts, such as bells and songs, that forewarn them of a change in activity, helping them to prepare and to remain calm and settled.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children become confident and capable communicators in readiness for their next stages in learning. Children readily engage in conversation. They share ideas and describe what they are doing with others. They show interest in their learning by asking questions and when they need assistance, they seek out adults to ask for help. Staff recognise the importance of developing these key communication skills before children start school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders and staff have established very positive relationships with families. They work closely with parents to ensure children attend the setting regularly. This helps children to quickly gain in confidence and build strong links with their key person.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders and staff sensitively guide children and are positive role models. They establish consistent boundaries so children know what is expected of them. For example, at tidy-up time, children collect up toys to put away. Staff give children gentle reminders when required. Children learn to work collaboratively with their friends to make the environment a safe place for everyone to enjoy. Children are kind and respectful to one another. They learn to take turns and willingly share resources as they play together.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff know children well and understand their individual needs. When children become frustrated or upset they offer warm reassurance that quickly helps children to regulate their emotions and feel calm. When some children struggle to join in with whole-group activities, staff skilfully offer alternative activities, such as reading a story together. This helps to keep children positively engaged with their learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff provide effective support for children to help them to understand how to use tools safely. For example, at snack time, children learn to use knives as they spread butter and are reminded why they should not put knives in their mouth. Children learn to consistently follow positive hygiene routines, which promotes their good health. They feel safe and secure as staff offer warm and consistent care. Children do not hesitate to approach staff when they need assistance.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders and staff help children to learn about the benefits of following a healthy lifestyle. They provide a wide range of fruits at snack time, which children are keen to try. Children are encouraged to make their own choices, selecting which fruits they would like and choosing between milk or water to drink. Staff adapt snack and mealtimes to enable children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to feel settled and enjoy their experience. Staff support children to use picture cards to help them to communicate their preferences, although this is not always consistent.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Parents value the support they receive from leaders and staff. They comment how staff have worked closely with them to understand children's individual needs. This helps all children to have a smooth transition into the setting.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders and staff deliver a well-sequenced and ambitious curriculum for children across all areas of learning. Staff liaise closely with parents to fully understand children's starting points and their interests. Staff make effective use of the information they gather to plan relevant and meaningful activities that carefully build on children's knowledge and skills and help all children to make progress. Staff provide regular updates for parents to help them to understand how they can support children's learning at home.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, gain suitable communication and language skills. Staff take care to speak clearly so children hear new vocabulary. They give children time to listen and repeat key words to help them make connections in their play. Staff give high regard to promoting children's personal, social and emotional development. Children foster positive relationships with one another and willingly share resources.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff regularly discuss children's progress. They identify next steps in children's learning by carefully considering what children already know and can do. Staff successfully build on children's skills by offering a variety of experiences. For example, they provide a wide range of tools for children to use with play dough. They extend children's physical skills by supporting them to use cutters and scissors. Staff skilfully model actions, such as rolling and kneading, to enhance children's dexterity. Staff consistently support mathematical learning by encouraging children to count, use number names and to recognise and compare shapes.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders prioritise training so that staff can support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively. Staff continually assess the progress children make. When staff identify that children may have delays in their development, they take swift action to address this. They talk to parents and contact other professionals for advice. Staff work closely as a team to develop strategies that support children with SEND to make progress and help them to be fully included in daily routines. Staff fully involve parents in discussions on how any additional funding can be best used to support children.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff skilfully adapt the curriculum to ensure all children can access the learning on offer. For some children, particularly those with SEND, this means that staff provide higher levels of focused support. They play alongside children, modelling how to do things and narrating so children benefit from hearing language. Staff use different strategies, such as sign language and picture cards, to support children with speech and communication delays. However, some strategies are not yet fully embedded throughout the day. This means, occasionally, children do not always use the cards to indicate the choices they would like to make, for example.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders hold regular staff meetings and appraisals to discuss what is working well and any areas where staff feel they may benefit from additional support or training. Ongoing professional development helps staff to develop the skills and knowledge they need to provide children with the best start in life and enable them to make the progress they are capable of. Leaders regularly talk to staff to check on their wellbeing. Staff say they feel valued and supported in their roles. For example, when staff express an interest in developing their skills to better understand how to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, leaders work with them to identify available training opportunities.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have taken positive steps to address the actions raised at the last inspection. The improvements that have been made have had a positive impact on the quality of teaching, learning and children's safety. All staff have updated their safeguarding knowledge, which has strengthened their awareness of how to protect children from harm. However, to sustain this improvement, leaders have yet to establish a robust approach to self-evaluation to ensure areas for further development are quickly identified.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children show their excitement as they arrive at the setting. Families are warmly greeted and staff spend time talking to parents to understand how children are feeling. Staff engage parents well in children's learning so regular attendance is promoted. Children are keen to participate in well-planned activities to promote and encourage learning, such as children's mathematical awareness and language skills. For example, children accurately count and describe what they are doing as they create play dough food. They show awareness of sharing equally as they cut shapes in half and say, 'one for you and one for me'. Staff sensitively guide children and consistently encourage them to have a go and express their ideas. This helps to promote children's independence and builds their confidence. Children show respect and consideration for one another. They develop positive self-esteem as staff frequently praise their achievements.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Staff have a thorough knowledge of every child's stage of development. They skilfully deliver a balanced curriculum that helps each child to make confident progress in all areas of learning. This gives children a firm foundation of learning on which to build as they move on to the next stage in their education. Staff provide activities that engage children's interests and support them to make continued progress. Children listen carefully to instructions and join in physical activities with enthusiasm. They show control and coordination as they jump, hop and dance to music.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children are cared for by attentive staff, who know children very well and provide high levels of support to ensure children feel safe. Staff routinely adapt their teaching strategies to enable all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to benefit from the activities on offer. Staff sit with children to provide focused support when looking at books. This helps children to sustain their concentration and supports their language development.

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Next steps

Leaders should review strategies used to support the communication skills of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to ensure they are used consistently. Leaders should strengthen monitoring systems to help them identify and analyse areas for improvement more precisely.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs coordinator and parents during the inspection.

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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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Address:

Parish Church Rooms Church Street Blaby LEICESTER LE8 4FA

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Blaby Pre-School Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 09:00 - 15:00,Friday : 09:00 - 12:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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