Abbotsbury School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy attending this welcoming and friendly school. Staff greet children individually by name. They ensure they receive any personal information from parents and carers during drop-off, to support a smooth transition for children. Children form strong attachments to their respective key persons, who are all warm and nurturing. Children settle exceptionally well and feel safe and secure in their environment.

All children make strong progress from their starting points, including those in receipt of additional funding. Children have an exceptional understanding of health and hygiene. They know to flush the toilet and wash their hands, even though they cannot see the germs. Children recognise the importance of healthy foods and act out role play scenarios with dolls to demonstrate their understanding. For instance, children inform staff that the dolls are poorly because they have eaten too many unhealthy foods. They confidently sort through plastic play food, selecting fruit and vegetables to help the dolls feel better.

Children behave meticulously. They are kind and respectful to one another and are keen to work collaboratively. Children support each other during activities and work as a team when tidying up. They share and take turns exceptionally well and enjoy responsibilities, such as being the 'leader for the day'. Children help prepare snack for their peers and enjoy carrying out small tasks with a highly positive attitude.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Children have a strong understanding of mathematics. Older children create their own repeating patterns. First, they decide upon a design and draw it on paper. Next, they use plastic cubes to represent it. Children confidently show how they can make more complex patterns using up to four colours. Younger children enjoy choosing hidden farm animals from inside a bag. They count how many legs the toy animal has and can understand mathematical language such as 'upside down', 'on top of' and 'next to'.
• Staff support children's language skills well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They ensure they use a set of core words that relate to the curriculum topic. Staff extend these where appropriate to ensure all children hear and learn new vocabulary. Children demonstrate good understanding. Younger children use simple sentences, and older children confidently elaborate on their ideas.
• Children enjoy growing a variety of herbs, fruits and vegetables in the outside area, such as rosemary, strawberries, potatoes and lavender. Inside, they grow sunflowers and make observational paintings of these. Older children skilfully name and label parts of the sunflower, including petal, stem and root. Children enjoy making marks using water and brushes, which encourages early writing development. However, the outside curriculum is not as rich, meaning children do not have consistent opportunities to access all areas of learning when outdoors, to enhance their development even further.
• Partnerships with parents are effective. Staff provide parents with relevant information about children's development, including the required progress check for children between the ages of two and three. Parents comment how children have progressed in their learning since starting and how they have settled well. Children also voice their opinions about the setting, stating 'I am happy when I come to school.'
• Staff morale is high. They feel well supported by class leaders and the provider. Regular training, staff supervision and team meetings enable everyone to contribute their skills and knowledge to benefit children. Additionally, staff work closely with other professionals to ensure a consistent approach to children's learning.
• Children enjoy a range of literacy activities. Older children find letters of their name written on wooden pegs. They peg them onto their paper dinosaurs, saying the sound for each letter. Younger children enjoy listening to a good range of stories. Staff use actions to accompany the stories, to encourage children to join in and sustain their concentration.
• Staff ensure they plan activities based on children's interests and individual needs. They bury 'dinosaur eggs' in the soil and sand tray to encourage children to use their finger muscles to dig and find them. Children show delight when they find the eggs, counting them as they go.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend the range of opportunities outside to help children explore and investigate a rich and broad variety of experiences, to enhance their development even further.