Little Deers Pre-SchoolOfsted report card, 22 Jun 2026

Little Deers Pre-School

Unique reference number (URN): 2833658 Address: The Beckley Centre, Mayers Way, Plymouth, PL9 9DF Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 30/05/2025 Registers: EYR Registered person: Routeways Centre Limited

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that adequately protects children from harm. Although leaders have policies and procedures in place, they do not follow these procedures effectively. They do not take swift action and maintain the required records to effectively protect children. For example, they have not made referrals to child protection agencies to safeguard the children in their care.

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders and staff take part in mandatory safeguarding training and recognise some indicators that a child may be at risk of harm. However, they fail to recognise where children's behaviour indicates a possible safeguarding concern and do not refer concerns on in line with procedures. This is a breach of the safeguarding and welfare requirements.

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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 Needs attention

Children who experience barriers to their learning are not prepared well enough for school. While some children achieve well, others do not receive the support they need swiftly enough and are not making the progress they could. For example, not all children build the social and emotional skills required for starting school, such as being able to share their feelings and tell adults what they want and need.

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Achievement Needs attention

Despite this, some children learn to wash their own hands and attend to their own toileting needs. They build positive early reading habits, which staff promote through the provision of enticing areas for reading. Children of all ages frequently choose to look at books by themselves and with their friends.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Children are not able to access the full curriculum at all times, particularly children with barriers to their learning. For example, issues that children experience in fully accessing the curriculum are not always identified correctly and therefore their needs are not fully understood or supported. Staff do not identify children's emotional barriers and do not effectively support children's behaviour. This impacts on how well children access the curriculum and their educational outcomes.

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Urgent improvement

Leaders and staff have tried to put a curriculum in place that builds on what children can already do and what they need to do next. Staff understand how some children are developing. For instance, they know how to promote some children's speech, language and communication skills. They repeat words back to younger children and model pronunciation. For some older children, they extend their speech by asking questions and encouraging them to use more complex language to explain their thinking, using clear and organised sentences. Staff focus on building children's confidence to select their own resources and lead their own learning. Overall, most children are focused in their play and benefit from the activities.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

Breaches to statutory requirements mean that leaders do not have effective systems in place to identify concerns in order to support all children. Staff fail to recognise that when children struggle to regulate their behaviour, this causes a barrier to their learning. Although staff identify when children's behaviour requires additional support, they fail to make timely referrals to seek specialist support. This means staff do not adapt their practice accordingly and this impacts some children's ability to regulate and display positive behaviours and attitudes to learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

Staff support children's focus and engagement. For example, staff have improved how they support children to wait for their turn and remain focused in planned daily group sessions, in preparation to start school. Staff support children to know is happening next. For instance, they use bells to tell children when they are moving on to another activity and to give them warnings. Staff support children who struggle with transitions to count down how many minutes they have remaining before they change activity. This promotes their understanding of how to follow routines.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

Attendance is supported. For example, leaders and staff have procedures to contact parents in the morning if children do not arrive. They monitor absences to identify patterns and trends and discuss these with parents to support attendance.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Leaders do not ensure that policies and procedures are implemented effectively, to ensure that all children, and particularly those who face barriers to their learning, wellbeing and welfare, are supported. Essential support is not put in place swiftly enough to support children to understand their emotions and how to express themselves appropriately. This means some children make slower progress due to their needs not being supported.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Generally, children build positive relationships with the staff. They develop secure attachments with their key person. Staff promote children's sense of belonging and confidence. For instance, they welcome children to the table when they want to join in a play dough activity and model kindness by offering them some dough. Most children are excited and focused in their play and display confidence. Staff support children's understanding of healthy foods and build positive eating habits. For instance, they offer nutritional foods at snack time and sit with children when they eat. They talk about which foods they are eating and how these foods keep us healthy. Older children learn how to brush their teeth and ways to promote oral health. Staff use mealtimes to support children's developing manners and social skills. For example, they teach children how to say 'please' and 'thank you' when they are helped, or if there is something they need.

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Inclusion Urgent improvement

Leaders and staff do not ensure that concerns about children are referred immediately so that they receive intervention and essential specialist support swiftly. This means that some children with barriers to learning and development do not have their needs met in a timely manner. Barriers to children's learning are not always identified correctly, particularly when children are experiencing, or may be at risk of, harm. As a result, not all children's needs are fully understood or supported and this affects their safety and the progress they make.

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Inclusion Urgent improvement

That being said, leaders and staff work with parents and outside agencies, who are already working with children with special education needs and/or disabilities. For example, they work with local speech and language specialists and collaborate on how best to use funding for the children it is intended for.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders do not ensure that effective safeguarding procedures are in place. For example, they do not make referrals to the local safeguarding board as soon as they are aware of concerns about the safety of a child. They do not keep effective oversight of concerns staff have about children in their care. As a result, they are unable to swiftly identify patterns of concern. Leaders fail to support staff to identify barriers to children's learning, and do not provide effective support for staff to manage children's behaviour successfully. This limits the progress these children make as they do not receive the targeted support they need.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Despite this, staff feel supported and that they can go to leaders for any help they need. They feel their wellbeing and workload is supported. For example, leaders offer a later start time for staff who have to rely on buses to get to work. Staff enjoy working at the pre-school. Leaders also ensure staff are suitable to work with children. For example, they conduct thorough interviews and checks on staff. They also monitor their ongoing suitability each year to ensure they remain safe to work with children.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders work with parents to support children's transitions, and with outside agencies for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities that are already identified.

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

Leaders fail to ensure the safety of children. They do not follow the correct safeguarding procedures and policies. For example, they fail to inform the local safeguarding partnership of significant events that put children at risk. In addition, they do not identify behaviours in vulnerable children, or children known to social services, which may indicate they are at risk of harm. This includes when children display highly-challenging behaviour, or when children are not meeting expected levels of emotional development. These breaches to the safeguarding and welfare requirements mean that children are at risk. Although leaders and staff receive safeguarding training, they do not document concerns effectively or make timely referrals to the relevant authorities.

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

Generally, staff are warm, welcoming and caring to children. Children show they feel secure when they come in, and they settle quickly. Children choose to cuddle up to adults as they read to them and sit on staff's laps. This promotes their security and feelings of being cared for and valued.

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

Overall, most children build important independence skills that prepare them for the next stages of learning. Most children focus and engage in their learning. For instance, they collect their own snacks and are confident in their choices. They build their finger strength using tongs to pick up fruit, and build coordination and arm strength when pouring their own drinks. This supports the foundations for the physical skills they need for writing when they start school. Most children learn to take turns and think of others. For instance, they learn to wait in line calmly.

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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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Action Completion Date

ensure all staff, including those with lead responsibility for safeguarding, understand their responsibility to keep children safe, and are able to swiftly respond in the event of a concern about children's safety or welfare 26/06/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that all staff are trained, supported and confident to implement the setting's safeguarding policies and procedures 06/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

maintain appropriate records to ensure the needs of all children are met 06/08/2026

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Address:

The Beckley Centre Mayers Way Plymouth PL9 9DF

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Routeways Centre Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00

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Action Completion Date

ensure all staff understand, support and manage children's behaviour in an appropriate way 06/08/2026

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About this inspection

The inspectors spoke with leaders, staff 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. 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. 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

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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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