Little Learners Pre School

Little Learners Pre School

Unique reference number (URN): 2740708 Address: New Milton Infant School, Lymington Road, New Milton, BH25 6PZ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 07/07/2023 Registers: EYR Registered person: Marsh, Sarah Jane

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding. This puts children at significant risk of harm.

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders have not provided some staff with the support and training they need to understand their safeguarding responsibilities and to identify the potential indicators that a child is at risk of abuse of harm.

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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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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders promote a positive and nurturing environment where expectations for behaviour are understood by staff and families. They work closely with parents to reinforce the importance of regular attendance and punctuality, helping children establish consistent routines that support their emotional security. Across the setting, staff build warm and trusting relationships with children. Key people know children well and use praise, encouragement and calm language to show them what kindness looks like in daily interactions. Staff model respectful behaviour and help children form positive friendships. For example, during a rhyme-time session, children choose to hold hands, demonstrating the emotional bonds and sense of safety they feel. Staff support these friendships, sensitively supporting children to welcome others into their play.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children respond well to routines. Many show growing confidence as they explore alongside others, beginning to take turns, share resources and listen to simple instructions. Staff generally consider children's age, stage of development and individual needs when guiding behaviour. They adapt their approaches to help children manage their emotions and follow expectations. For example, staff gently remind children how to ask for a turn or help them use familiar phrases to resolve small disagreements. As a result, children experience a calm, supportive environment and are increasingly ready to learn alongside their peers.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children's achievement is uneven across the setting, including for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning. While children are generally happy and engaged, their learning is not always sequenced or embedded well enough to extend their thinking and understanding. As a result, children's readiness for the next stage of education is variable.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children enjoy taking part in activities that cover all areas of learning. Overall, they develop positive attitudes to learning. Many children make steady progress from their starting points. They join in with songs, stories and simple conversations, which supports them to build their early language skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders plan a curriculum that covers all areas of learning and reflects children's individual needs. However, there are inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and implementation of activities. Some staff are not clear what they want children to learn or do not know how to use their interactions to help children understand new ideas or master tasks. This leads to variation in how well activities build children's knowledge and skills, particularly for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Where teaching is effective, opportunities for communication and language development are thoughtfully planned. For example, children talk about weather patterns as they draw rain, sunshine and rainbows. Staff introduce mathematical ideas well, prompting discussions about shape and colour. All children enjoy regular access to books. Older children vote for the story they would like at the end of the day, helping to nurture early reading habits and a sense of belonging.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Staff create inviting spaces where children make choices and develop confidence in their play. Staff use strategies, such as visual prompts and simplified language, to help children with SEND follow routines and take part. Children with emerging social or emotional needs are given calm spaces and additional reassurance, although this support is not consistently underpinned by purposeful teaching.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders and staff have a clear intention to provide an inclusive provision, and children's individual needs are identified swiftly. This is achieved through effective information-sharing with parents and ongoing observations. However, there are inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and in some staff's understanding of how to deliver the intended curriculum. This limits the impact of leaders' otherwise well-planned support and prevents some children from making the sustained progress they are capable of. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Urgent improvement

Where needed, leaders are effective in ensuring that individual children and families receive timely and well-coordinated support. This includes making referrals to other relevant professionals, such as speech and language specialists. Staff complete some useful training, including Makaton. This helps them to make reasonable adjustments and reduce barriers to learning.

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Urgent improvement

Leaders make well-considered use of additional funding. For example, they purchase resources and services to strengthen children's communication, independence and early learning. However, the inconsistencies in teaching reduce the overall impact of this support.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Leaders do not ensure that staff consistently follow the setting's procedures regarding the supervision of children at mealtimes. Staff are not fully vigilant in making sure that children are always within hearing and sight, as required. This impacts on children's safety and wellbeing. Staff prepare snacks appropriately. For example, they cut fruit children have brought from home and prepare snacks suitable for younger children or those with specific dietary needs. However, the weaknesses in supervision mean that snack and mealtimes are not managed well.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Children form secure relationships with their key person, which helps many to express their feelings and settle quickly. Staff use warm, responsive interactions to support children's emotional wellbeing. Children enjoy the welcoming spaces where they independently choose resources linked to their interests. For example, older children select art materials to express themselves creatively and practise making marks in preparation for writing. Children engage in lively conversations and take appropriate risks as they navigate the outdoor obstacle course.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Staff consider individual care needs, including those of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, when planning daily routines. They work with parents to support children's comfort and development.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders do not effectively promote children's safety and wellbeing. Weaknesses in leaders' oversight and monitoring mean that key concerns, including inconsistent supervision during eating routines, gaps in safeguarding knowledge and variation in the quality of teaching, are not identified or addressed with sufficient urgency. Systems to monitor practice and evaluate the impact of professional development are underdeveloped and do not ensure consistency or compliance with safeguarding procedures. Although leaders have begun to refine monitoring processes, these actions are not yet securely embedded.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders work positively with parents and external professionals to secure support for children who need additional help. They maintain open communication with families and demonstrate care and empathy when guiding staff through challenging situations. Leaders provide staff with some useful development opportunities, such as Makaton training, and consider staff wellbeing and workload when planning changes.

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

Children's day-to-day experience is not consistently safe or purposeful. There are weakness in the knowledge and understanding of some staff in relation to safeguarding practice. In addition, staff do not consistently supervise children well enough, particularly during snack time. This does not ensure that children are adequately protected while eating. At times, some children drift between activities without purpose. This is because some staff do not understand the curriculum well enough to teach intentionally or to build children's knowledge securely through play and interaction.

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

Children arrive to warm greetings and settle quickly. However, inconsistencies in the implementation of the curriculum mean that they experience variable levels of teaching and support. Overall, staff know children well. They effectively use approaches such as Makaton and personalised picture cards to help every child understand what is happening or going to happen next. The recognition of children's uniqueness is a strength within the setting. Leaders identify emerging needs promptly. They coordinate support with external professionals, where needed, to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

All children form trusting bonds with their key person and enjoy spending time with their friends. They often collaborate in play and proudly share their ideas. Children choose from a range of inviting activities that spark curiosity and offer meaningful chances to build early independence. For example, they engage well in activities that promote their understanding of mathematics. They also enjoy listening to stories, which supports their communication and language development.

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

Leaders' continued focus on attendance and positive behaviour supports children to develop confidence and resilience in preparation for moving on in their education.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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Address:

New Milton Infant School Lymington Road New Milton BH25 6PZ

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, and the special educational needs coordinator 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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About this inspection

A quality assurance visit by an additional inspector was carried out at this inspection. Registered person: Marsh, Sarah Jane

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About this inspection

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:40 - 15:00

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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

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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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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