YMCA Qwackers Pre-SchoolOfsted report card, 24 Sept 2026

YMCA Qwackers Pre-School

Unique reference number (URN): 2862147 Address: Qwackers Pre-School, Hanby Lane, ALFORD, LN13 9BN Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 13/08/2025 Registers: EYR Registered person: Lincolnshire Y.M.C.A Ltd

p.1

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.

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

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

p.1

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.

p.1

Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have an in-depth knowledge of their local community. They know what might prevent children's access to learning or families' abilities to engage. In response to this, leaders have undertaken extensive work to remove barriers to children's learning, both at the setting and to help families support their children's development at home. For example, they have shared resources with families to use at home and have purchased equipment that parents say helps their children, so that a consistent approach can be adopted. Leaders have made multiple adjustments to how staff do things, so each individual child receives tailored care and education.

p.2

Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders swiftly identify children's emerging and changing needs. They implement effective information-sharing strategies so that all staff are well equipped in knowledge to meet children's individual needs. Leaders recognise the variety of vulnerabilities that children may face, ranging from children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to children who fear the noise that the boiler makes in the bathroom.

p.2

Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders spend additional funding wisely. Recently, investments have been made in sensory resources to help children calm when they are feeling upset. Staff spend one-to-one time with children to teach them how to use the resources so that children have the skills they need when the moment arises.

p.2

Inclusion Strong standard

Children known or previously known to social care are safeguarded effectively. Leaders make adaptations to staff arrangements so that the best-placed person is available to offer the care that these children need, especially after a traumatic event. Leaders organise relevant training opportunities for staff so that staff hold the skills and knowledge they need to offer high-quality care to the most vulnerable children.

p.2

Achievement Expected standard

Generally, children make secure progress in their learning and development. Children who face barriers to their learning progress very well through accessing tailored learning opportunities. For instance, children who struggle socially are seen waiting patiently for their turn on the slide and show that they understand the dynamics of playing alongside others.

p.2

Achievement Expected standard

Some children show how they can confidently answer questions that staff ask during group- time activities. They explain how the character in the story has learned not to tell lies. New children quickly learn the names of others through listening carefully at welcome time. This helps them to later initiate play with their new friends.

p.2

Achievement Expected standard

Children are supported throughout the academic year to get ready for school. In the final term, leaders and staff pay extra attention to making sure children know the routines that they will follow when they start school.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders provide staff with resources to help children learn what is expected of them and what will happen in their day. Staff use visual aids particularly well with children who struggle to understand verbal direction. For example, they show children a picture to explain that it will be story time next.

p.3

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children learn skills from staff to get along well with others. Children copy staff to help their friends open food packets from their packed lunch. Staff model polite manners that they want children to learn, such as by thanking children for acts of kindness. They build respectful relationships with children, fostering the values that they want children to have when moving on to school and beyond.

p.3

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Generally, children engage well in their learning. Occasionally, children's attitudes to learning deteriorate slightly when they are expected to sit and listen for too long. Staff do not always notice this and do not consistently adapt their planning of activities or teaching style accordingly.

p.3

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders work collaboratively with parents to encourage their children's regular and punctual attendance. They adjust children's session times to work around parents' working hours. Leaders help parents understand how to use the online app to report absences to aid robust monitoring of children's attendance. This helps to safeguard children.

p.3

Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have considered some risks that they want children to be alert to in their lives and have directed staff to teach children important skills, such as crossing the road safely. Leaders make sure that children have opportunities to play outdoors every day, where children can test their physical capabilities safely in their play while using large climbing equipment. However, staff's interactions and the activities they plan do not include enough scope for children to learn about safe or appropriate screen-time use. This could have an impact on children's ability to make positive choices about using technology.

p.3

Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who have struggles away from the setting, benefit greatly from the resources that staff provide to help regulate their feelings and emotions. For instance, children are soothed as they push together poppers and undo them again. Staff use visual communication aids with children to help them express their feelings. Children point to different faces to explain when they are feeling angry or happy.

p.3

Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff who are key persons know their key children well. This includes obtaining and sharing information with the wider staff team about children's care routines, for example about whether children wear a nappy or use the toilet independently. Staff understand how important it is for children to eat healthy foods, but not enough is done to help parents choose appropriate lunch-box foods.

p.3

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, leaders support staff to implement a well-designed curriculum that they review and adapt frequently depending on children's changing needs. Currently, staff are focusing on supporting children's personal, social and emotional development as they settle back into the setting's routine following the summer holiday break. Staff are mostly effective in their teaching. They dedicate one-to-one time to children who need it, such as those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). That said, there are some areas of the curriculum that need development to more precisely match the knowledge and skills that children need to know, for example around the safe and appropriate use of technological devices. The lack of a precise focus on this area means that children may not fully obtain the knowledge and skills they need to navigate the technological world and internet wisely.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff support children's communication and language development well. They focus on teaching children with SEND new vocabulary by emphasising key words in sentences during play. Staff ask children open-ended questions about the book that they read at group times. This encourages children to use their developing language and communication skills to share their ideas and recall what they know. Staff have pitched their teaching of maths appropriately, helping younger children to learn basic counting skills before advancing to more complex knowledge.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have met the action that was issued during recent regulatory work. They have made sure that all staff have increased their knowledge of safeguarding procedures, including around why it is so important to monitor children's attendance and what the setting's expectations are for the safe use of mobile phones. Staff demonstrate their knowledge of identifying when a child is at risk, and their understanding of how to respond appropriately.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders take action to address pressures that staff face, for instance around increased workloads. They are in the early stages of recruiting a new permanent deputy manager who will assist the manager in their important role.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders organise relevant and high-quality learning opportunities for staff. They encourage and support staff to complete higher-level qualifications. Recent training equips staff to better their practice when working with children who have faced trauma and children who have a variety of different special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders consider where the setting is operating well and have identified some developments that would improve outcomes for children. That said, their focus on what matters most for children who attend this setting is variable, for example around identifying and promoting the most relevant health and wellbeing choices for children. Leaders are soon going to introduce home learning initiatives, which include links to stories and songs though scanning a QR code. This accessible method means that all parents will be able to support their children's development at home, even if they struggle with their own literacy abilities.

p.4

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

Children settle into their learning with attentive care and support offered by staff. Lots of children enjoy water play. Pre-school children learn the importance of washing germs away during an activity where they bath baby dolls. They apply this learning to their own personal care, as they show how they can wash their hands independently before they eat and after they have sneezed. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are soothed with the sensory benefits of water play after periods of upset. They become mesmerised while they watch water flow through pipes attached to a fence. This is just one of many sensory activities that children with SEND learn from.

p.5

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

Children use their developing imaginations to act out pirate role play. They use topical language that they have learned to explain how they are following a map to find the treasure. Children practise using their physical skills as they dress up in pirate outfits. With help, they put on and take off trousers and waistcoats. This is a useful skill that children will use at school when getting ready for physical education lessons. Children show how they can play together in collaboration with their peers, using their social skills to decide where the narrative will go next. Staff support children to count the amount of treasure they find and the number of telescopes they have. Younger children confidently count 1, 2, 3, which is a sequence of numbers they have recently been learning.

p.5

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

Children are becoming emotionally secure. Upset children benefit from tailored care, including one-to-one time with staff who they have formed a bond with. Children benefit from carefully selected resources which aid emotional wellbeing and regulation. For instance, sensory toys, weighted blankets, spinning chairs and trampolines. Leaders have used information from parents so that the resources chosen specifically meet children's individual needs.

p.5

Next steps

Leaders should support staff to recognise when they need to adapt their planning and methods of teaching when children show signs of disengagement from learning. Leaders should review and revise the current curriculum so that it matches more precisely to the changing needs of children, for example so that it includes teaching around safe and appropriate screen use.

p.5

Address:

Qwackers Pre-School Hanby Lane ALFORD LN13 9BN

p.6

Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

p.6

Address:

Registered person: Lincolnshire Y.M.C.A Ltd

p.6

Address:

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

p.6

Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. Leaders should consider and implement more effective ways of promoting the importance of eating healthy foods to children and their families.

p.6

About this inspection

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

p.6

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 is from 24 September 2026

p.6

Exceptional

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

p.7

Strong standard

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

p.7

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.

p.7

Needs attention

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

p.7

Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

p.7

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 .

p.8

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 .

p.8

Urgent improvement

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

p.8

Urgent improvement

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

p.8