Little Lambs Preschool

Mud pies, coloured balance beams and a celebration of Rosh Hashanah give Little Lambs Preschool a recognisable character in its September 2023 account. Based at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Basingstoke, it has 26 places in total.

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the preschool Good, finding that children progressed well and that support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefited from additional funding and collaboration with parents and professionals. Children attending then were aged 2 to 5.

The early years foundation stage sets expectations for children's learning, development and care, encompassing the play, relationships and physical activity described here. In September 2023, children experimented with mud, water and leaves in imaginative play. Older children used a ride-on motorbike and coloured balance beams, giving them opportunities to practise movement and balance.

Animal-picture games encouraged children to listen, cooperate and take turns. Cultural learning also had concrete detail: children explored Rosh Hashanah through stories, making a shofar and tasting apples with honey. These were examples from September 2023, rather than a calendar of recurring activities.

Teaching had an important limitation. In September 2023, some practitioners did not develop activities far enough for older children and those ready for greater challenge. More precisely targeted staff development was also an improvement priority.

In September 2023, staff helped newcomers settle and supported children who needed help managing emotions. Waiting for a turn and sharing resources formed part of everyday social learning. Communication with families covered activities and progress, alongside ideas for continuing learning at home, including emotional and social development.

At the September 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, while identifying a failure to notify it about manager changes; suitability checks had been completed before the managers worked with children, and the omission had no impact on children. Staff understood warning signs of harm and how to raise or escalate concerns.

The address is Church of the Good Shepherd, Winklebury Centre, Basingstoke, RG23 8BU.

In September 2023, opening hours were 9am to 2.45pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 1pm on Friday, during term time. Friday had an earlier finish than the other weekdays. At that time, the preschool received funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four.

• Challenge for older children. September 2023 teaching sometimes left children ready for harder tasks insufficiently stretched. Look for examples of how activities now develop their next steps.
• Management administration. The September 2023 notification omission sat alongside effective safeguarding and completed suitability checks. Accurate notifications were nevertheless an identified responsibility.
• Attendance and costs. How do today's booking patterns and funded-hours arrangements work, including responsibility for meals and consumables?

Little Lambs has an encouraging September 2023 picture of social learning, imaginative play and individual support. It suits families who value those experiences, while parents of older children should weigh the identified need for greater challenge. Its inspection-era term-time timetable also provides a useful starting point for assessing fit with family routines.