Metheringham Pre-School

Metheringham Pre-School
Unique reference number (URN): 253567
Address: The Village Hall, Fen Road, Metheringham, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN4 3AA
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 07/12/1992
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Metheringham Preschool Committee
Inspection report: 24 November 2025
Exceptional
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
Urgent improvement

Needs attention
Safeguarding standards not met
Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding.
This puts children at significant risk of harm.
Despite completing relevant training, staff fail to recognise when children may be at risk of
harm or neglect. They lack professional curiosity and do not consider the reasons why
children or parents act in a certain way. Staff know how to refer concerns on to the relevant
safeguarding agencies, but because they do not assess children's safety adequately,
referrals to relevant agencies are not always made.
How we evaluate safeguarding
When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:
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.
Achievement Needs attention
Most children arrive at the setting with an expected level of development. However, for
children who are facing barriers in their learning and development, staff are not doing
enough to ensure they are making appropriate progress at home as well as at the setting,
for example around their self-care abilities such as toilet training. Furthermore, leaders fail to
challenge information that they do not agree with around children's development. This
potentially means that some children are not achieving at the same rate as their peers.
Children make expected progress in their communication and language development. They
engage in back-and-forth conversations with staff, answer questions using their growing
bank of new words, and use their language skills independently when interacting with their
peers. Parents comment that their children's speech is developing well.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention
Staff have not established enough structure and order to some routine times, such as when
they ask children to tidy away. During these times, some children do not follow instructions
and show a lack of engagement in the tasks that staff assign them. This leads to incidents of
poor behaviour, which sometimes go unnoticed by staff, as they are busy attending to other
matters.
Leaders and staff promote the importance of attendance at the setting through discussions
with parents. This supports children to regularly access and benefit from the provision.
Children show they feel safe in their environment. They form positive attachments with staff

that support their emotional wellbeing. Staff are positive role models in their respectful
interactions with children and one another. They talk regularly with the children during play
times and reinforce social rules, such as to share. This helps children to understand the
expectations and results in children playing harmoniously together.
Staff use some purposeful age-appropriate strategies to help children learn how to manage
their feelings and interactions with one another. For example, staff provide egg timers to
help children with turn-taking. Children work together and talk to each other about whose
turn it is next.
Curriculum and teaching Needs attention
Leaders do not make sure that all staff make an adequate assessment of their key children's
learning and development. In some cases, staff do not gather enough information from
parents and other settings that children have previously attended, to determine the stage of
children's learning and development when they first start. Where assessments are made,
staff do not consistently use this information to adapt the curriculum so that all children have
the same opportunity to make progress.
While the setting's curriculum is designed to provide children with access to learn across all
areas of learning, leaders and staff are unsure about why they provide some activities, such
as a 'curiosity corner'. For children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, the
curriculum is not ambitious enough. Staff plan activities around children's current interests,
such as exploring snow. They consider how they can support children to develop key skills.
For instance, children develop their physical skills as they manipulate sticky foam into a
variety of shapes. Staff weave in teaching that extends children's understanding of numbers
and size.
The setting supports children's personal, social and emotional development. It helps children
to learn how to keep themselves safe. For instance, staff provide children with gentle
reminders on how to keep themselves safe when riding toy cars. Children's communication
and language are adequately supported through the setting's curriculum. Staff encourage
conversations by asking children open-ended questions.
Inclusion Needs attention
Leaders and staff do not collect enough information about children when they start at the
setting, including those who are previously known to social care, to adequately assess their
learning and care needs. This means that staff lack important information that they need to
make sure all children make progress in all aspects of their learning and development.
During their time at the setting, staff identify when children start to show gaps in their
learning and development, and leaders put some targeted support in place. Staff work with
some parents to involve specialist services so that children who may have barriers to
learning receive the support they need, but this is not sufficiently consistent.

Urgent improvement
Staff make use of additional funding to provide children with resources that support their
learning or for one-to-one time with staff. For example, they have purchased sensory toys to
support children's emotional wellbeing and attention skills.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement
Leaders fail to gather sufficient information on children to ensure that all their individual care
needs are met and well supported. They do not liaise with services that have previously
been involved in children's lives, nor do they routinely gather information about children's
learning and development from settings that they have previously attended. Leaders do not
ensure effective lines of communication are in place with parents, to make sure that staff
hold relevant and up-to-date information about children. This includes information about
some vulnerable children's medical needs and the administration of medication.
The care practices that staff implement support children's good health. For example,
children understand they need to wash their hands before eating. Staff promote children's
understanding of leading healthy lifestyles. They do this by providing children with frequent
opportunities to take part in physical activities. For example, children enjoy shaking the
parachute up and down. Staff build warm and nurturing relationships with children through
one-to-one activities, such as sharing a book together. This helps children to develop a
secure sense of wellbeing. Staff have implemented strategies such as a 'breathing box' to
provide children with time to be calm when they feel overwhelmed. This helps children to
recognise and better manage their emotions.
Leadership and governance Urgent improvement
Leaders have failed to ensure the requirements of the early years foundation stage are met.
Weaknesses in carrying out their safeguarding responsibilities put some children at risk.
Despite carrying out regular supervisions with staff, leaders' oversight of practice is not
effective in ensuring staff understand their role within the setting.
Staff have opportunities to progress their ongoing professional development. They report
that they feel their wellbeing is supported well by the leadership team. Regular staff
meetings allow staff the time to discuss ideas and developments for the setting. Leaders are
considerate about how any additional funding is used to support children who have barriers
to learning. For example, funding has been used to purchase resources such as stress balls
'feelings stones', which has supported children to regulate and talk about their emotions.
Leaders have implemented changes since the last inspection that include developing the
learning environment for children to self-select and make more choices in their play. This
has resulted in children engaging in play for longer periods and extending their play ideas
independently. Leaders and staff have plans for the future that include enhancing the
outdoor provision.

What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children's health and safety are not assured. Leaders and staff do not fulfil their
safeguarding responsibilities. They do not know enough about the children in their care to
be able to identify potential safeguarding concerns and meet children's individual care and
learning needs. Staff administer medication to children without knowing this is specifically
prescribed and understanding medical professionals' guidance around this. Staff's
assessment of children is not consistent, and some children play without staff having an
exact idea about what children should learn next. They do not always know the purpose of
activities that are provided.
Children arrive at the setting and are greeted warmly by staff. They settle quickly and start to
explore the activities that are available to them. Children benefit from playing outside
regularly. They giggle with their friends as they develop their physical skills while they
transport bricks in wheelbarrows and build towers. Staff deployment is effective and
contributes to children's safety in the setting. Children attend the setting routinely and
regularly. Staff know what children are interested in and use this information to provide
experiences that children enjoy. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities
benefit from adapted teaching at times.
Staff are positive role models and develop secure relationships with children. They expect
children to behave well, but they do not always notice when children's behaviour starts to
deteriorate. This is notable at times of transition where children do not always follow
instructions, such as to put away what they are playing with. Children sometimes seek
support from staff to resolve minor conflicts with their friends.
Next steps
To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage the provider must take the
following actions by the assigned date:
Action Completion
Date
ensure that concerns about children's safety and welfare are swiftly
identified and referred to the local authority children's social care
team
27/02/2026

Inspector:
Emma Curry
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 253567
Address:
The Village Hall
Fen Road, Metheringham
Lincoln
Lincolnshire
LN4 3AA
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 07/12/1992
Action Completion
Date
use assessment to ensure children's learning needs are being met
when planning the curriculum and to involve specialist support
services where needed
27/02/2026
ensure an effective key-person system is in place, whereby clear lines
of communication are maintained with parents in order to obtain
important information about children's lives outside of the setting
27/02/2026
ensure robust systems are in place to obtain information about a
child's need for medication
27/02/2026
About this inspection
The inspectors spoke with leaders and practitioners during the 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.
A quality assurance visit by an additional inspector was carried out at this inspection.

Registered person: Metheringham Preschool Committee
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 09:00 - 15:00
Local authority: Lincolnshire
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 24 November 2025
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
2 to 4
Total number of places
40
Our grades explained
Exceptional
Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.
Strong standard
The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of
them.
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.
Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary
improvements.
Urgent improvement
The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of
education and/or care.
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects
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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