Pollyanna Pre-School CIO

Pollyanna Pre-School CIO

Unique reference number (URN): 2881422 Address: Stoke Mandeville Community Centre, Eskdale Road, Stoke Mandeville, Aylesbury, HP22 5UJ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 17/03/2026 Registers: EYR Registered person: Pollyanna Pre-School CIO

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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

All children typically progress well from their starting points and are well prepared for the next stage in their learning. Some children make even better progress, including some with special educational needs and/or disabilities or other barriers to learning. Overall, children engage positively with songs, discussions and a wide range of play experiences that help to build their confidence. Children show curiosity and interest in their play and activities.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children have fun making paper aeroplanes and enjoy experimenting with these to see how far they can make them fly. Children develop their problem-solving skills. For example, children of different ages experiment with dough, adding herbs to 'make dinner' for their friends. They enjoy learning about cause and effect as they add water to mud, developing simple hypotheses through trial and error. Children form warm relationship with others. They show growing resilience and curiosity as they explore and play. Children demonstrate increasing independence. They make choices about where to play indoors or outdoors, select activities that they would like to do, pour drinks and help to prepare snacks.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children show positive behaviour. This is supported very effectively by leaders and staff who uphold clear expectations for cooperation and mutual respect. Daily routines are well established, helping children to arrive confidently and settle quickly. Children build warm and effective relationships with one another. They interact harmoniously and enjoy shared play. For example, they take their friends for a bicycle ride around the garden while laughing together. Staff use emotion cups to help children recognise and express their feelings. Staff praise children in ways that encourage them to regulate their emotions and develop confidence. Children show secure understanding of how to treat others with kindness and respect. This is clear when they politely request resources, such as asking for spades to help build a sandcastle, or take turns using the walkie-talkies. Children join in group activities with enthusiasm, including familiar games such as 'What is the Time, Mr Wolf?'.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The key-person approach is understood and embedded in practice. Staff know their key children well and have a clear understanding of what they need to learn next. This information is generally shared effectively with other staff and ensures everyone is aware of each child's next steps. This supports inclusive practice and helps all children feel included, secure and ready to learn. Leaders and staff work closely with families to promote regular attendance. This helps children to settle well, build confidence and prepare them for their next stage of learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders ensure that policies and procedures to safeguard and promote children's welfare are firmly in place and applied consistently across the setting. Staff a show secure understanding of these expectations and maintain effective practice. The environment is warm, welcoming and thoughtfully organised. Leaders and staff transform the room each day into an inviting space where children can relax, be active and engage in purposeful play. This reflects a clear commitment to creating an environment that meets children's emotional and developmental needs.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Hygiene routines are well established. Children understand the importance of handwashing before meals and after using the bathroom. Snack routines run smoothly. However, lunchtime procedures are less structured. For example, children arrive at different times to eat, tables are not always prepared promptly and, routines such as disposing of rubbish before continuing to eat are not consistently followed by children. Despite this, staff supervise children appropriately.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Outdoor play is prioritised. Staff give children regular opportunities for exploration and physical development. Leaders have created an action plan to enhance the garden area and increase cardiovascular activities throughout the year. Children feel safe, settled and emotionally secure. Staff work closely with families and external professionals to meet children's individual welfare needs, particularly for children with special educational needs or those facing barriers to learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, staff plan and provide a broad curriculum that reflects children's interests, developmental stages and individual needs well. Leaders have a clear understanding of what they want children to learn. This helps children to make progress and work towards their full potential. Staff generally show a suitable understanding of the areas of learning and can identify what children need to learn next. Interactions between staff and children are positive overall. However, the quality of teaching is not yet consistent across the setting. While some staff consistently interact with children throughout the day, others do not always engage children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged children and those facing barriers to learning. As a result, the level of support children receive varies.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff support children's physical development well. They help children to develop their control and coordination through activities they enjoy. For instance, as children take part in creative play, staff teach them how to use scissors and apply glue as they gain confidence in their fine motor skills. Children develop control of their large-muscle skills through activities such as climbing on foam apparatus, riding bicycles and playing ball games. Staff encourage and support children's mathematical learning through everyday experiences. They make effective use of practical experiences. Children develop their mathematical learning through everyday counting, discussions about 'more' and 'less' and practical experiences, such as exploring in water, exploring and transporting with sand and mark making.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Overall, leaders and staff have high expectations for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), disadvantaged children and those known, or previously known, to children's social care. Inclusion across the setting is effective. Leaders identify children's needs quickly and accurately. Staff with key roles and responsibilities demonstrate a secure understanding of their role and use this knowledge to identify barriers to learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff work closely with parents and carers, external professionals and agencies, including speech and language therapists, to ensure children receive timely and effective support. They work in close partnerships with the local authority to offer spaces for children who may need extra support. This helps to support children with SEND and disadvantaged children to make effective progress from their starting points.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders use additional funding purposefully to close gaps in children's learning, extend their attendance where appropriate and provide experiences and activities that strengthen children's learning and development. Children are recognised and valued as individuals. This helps them to develop a secure sense of belonging.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders create an inclusive environment where children and families feel welcomed. They understand the setting's strengths and areas for development and take purposeful action to improve the quality of provision. Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions and wellbeing checks. They speak positively about the support they receive. Leaders provide ongoing opportunities for professional development through in-house training, apprenticeships and wider learning opportunities. However, inconsistencies in staff's practice are not always fully recognised and targeted swiftly. Despite this, staff are able to strengthen their practice through training, which contributes to a culture of continuous improvement.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The setting is secure, with robust procedures in place for monitoring staff's suitability. Clear policies and procedures ensure visitors and unfamiliar adults cannot access the pre-school unnoticed. Staff follow these consistently to maintain children's safety. Leaders and staff understand their roles for maintaining confidentiality at all times. Governance arrangements are transparent and in line with the requirements of the early years foundation stage.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders work closely with parents and carers, schools, external agencies and the wider community to secure appropriate support for children and families. Partnerships with families are positive, and communication is effective. Parents express high levels of satisfaction with the support offered to themselves and their children.

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

Children arrive happily and confidently at the pre-school. They enter a calm and welcoming environment and show they feel safe, valued and emotionally secure. Children show they are confident as they separate quickly from their parents and carers. They enter play spaces assertively and settle to familiar activities and playing with friends. This shows they feel comfortable.

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

Warm and caring relationships with staff help children to develop a positive sense of belonging. Staff know children and their families well. They use this knowledge to offer typical support that helps children to build confidence, resilience and overcome barriers to learning. Children's backgrounds, cultures, languages and experiences are respected and meaningfully reflected in daily practice. This helps every child to feel included.

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

Children enjoy their learning and engage with enthusiasm. The environment is thoughtfully arranged to encourage children to make choices, while building on their curiosity and exploration. Children move freely between areas, selecting activities that interest them. For instance, some children enjoy mark making on whiteboards, and others become absorbed in creating pictures using glue and different types of media and materials.

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

Children play kindly together and share ideas and resources. They build early friendships that support their confidence and emotional development. Children have daily opportunities to play outside, where they enjoy physical activities. They learn how to keep safe as staff talk to them about careful scissor use and the importance of protecting themselves from the sun.

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

Staff recognise and celebrate children's achievements. They offer meaningful praise when children master new skills, such as early writing skills. Overall, staff support children's play well and model language well through conversations, storytelling, singing and group times. Children have many opportunities to develop their independence, such as pouring drinks and spreading toppings on snacks. These skills help to prepare children well for future learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged children and those facing barriers to learning receive effective support, through early intervention and close partnerships with families and agencies.

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Next steps

Leaders should monitor staff's practice more precisely to help build confidence and consistency in their teaching and interactions, to promote children's learning and progress further. Leaders should take steps to develop a well-structured lunchtime to ensure there is a fully consistent approach to promoting children's positive health.

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Address:

Stoke Mandeville Community Centre Eskdale Road, Stoke Mandeville Aylesbury HP22 5UJ

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Pollyanna Pre-School CIO

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 09:00 - 14:45

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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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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children, parents and carers and the designated safeguarding lead 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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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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