Little Lambs Pre- School

Choosing games by counting votes, practising movement through colour signals and using a listening leopard: Little Lambs Pre- School's June 2022 daily life combined child choice with a carefully organised routine. These small details give a useful picture of how children participated.

Ofsted rated the setting Good on 29 June 2022 and found safeguarding effective. Based at Bethel Chapel in Wollescote, it has 55 places in total; children attending at the June 2022 visit were aged two to four. The central consideration is how consistently adults let children think and act for themselves.

In June 2022, children selected games through voting and counted the results with staff. That gave decision-making a practical purpose, with counting woven into shared play. Lola the listening leopard was a visual aid for helping younger children understand group-time expectations.

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, the June 2022 examples included counting, listening, physical movement and practising everyday self-care.

Fresh air and exercise formed part of the routine that month. In the traffic light game, colours prompted children to pause or move, giving them practice in controlling their movements. Exercise was followed by a quieter activity and a story, helping the day move between active and calmer periods.

There was a clear weakness alongside this planning. In June 2022, adults sometimes finished tasks for children to obtain a particular result, restricting their independence and ideas. Questioning also needed to draw out children's existing knowledge and develop their vocabulary more consistently.

In June 2022, children initially played with their key person before joining the wider group. Turn-taking games gave staff opportunities to help children wait for one another. Children also practised washing their hands and putting their shoes on themselves.

At the June 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that children made good progress and that routines were adapted to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Adjustments included reconsidering how much sitting was appropriate for a child's stage of development.

Communication with families that month included online contact, conversations and parents' evenings. Parents understood their children's learning targets and ways to support them at home, connecting nursery activities with family life.

The address is Bethel Chapel, Hill Street, Wollescote, Stourbridge, DY9 8TL.

In June 2022, attendance ran Monday to Friday during term time, with sessions from 8.30am to 11.30am and 12.30pm to 3.30pm. A six-hour session was offered to children receiving 30 hours funding. Funded early education then covered two-, three- and four-year-olds. These are dated attendance arrangements, rather than a statement of today's offer.

• Adult involvement. June 2022 practice sometimes limited children's opportunities to complete tasks independently. On a visit, look at how practitioners support a child's attempt before stepping in.
• Language development. Questioning needed improvement in June 2022. Listen for how adults explore children's ideas and introduce new vocabulary during play.
• Attendance fit. The June 2022 arrangements combined term-time sessions with a longer funded session. What attendance patterns can the nursery now agree for your family?

Little Lambs suits consideration by families drawn to participatory play, physical activity and close key-person relationships. Its June 2022 arrangements catered for morning or afternoon attendance and a longer session for children receiving 30 hours funding. The Good judgement provides a dated quality benchmark, balanced by specific concerns about independence and language development.