Ashbridge on Ribble

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The management team has gone above and beyond expectations in the design of the curriculum. The team is truly dedicated to helping children to achieve the best start in life. The ethos of the curriculum is attachment, warmth and nurture. The management team knows that secure, happy children learn better. The team is committed to helping children build foundations that promote and support their future learning journeys, including after leaving this setting.

The management team invests in its staff to exemplary levels and is acutely focused on continuous improvement. Staff learn about how children's brains develop and use this knowledge to consider how best to implement the curriculum for each individual child. Every child in this setting experiences a rich, enthralling and personally challenging quality of education, which helps their progression to soar.

Staff feel respected and heard. They appreciate the support and guidance of the management team. They then, in turn, reinvest this respect into children. Children are given choices, asked for their opinions and treated as important, esteemed members of the setting's community. They feel proud of their achievements, engaged by their learning and valued by staff and their peers. This is reflected in children's wonderful behaviour. Children know what is expected of them and meet these expectations with gusto.

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

• The ambition of the management team is infectious. The team is committed to cultivating a staff team that has a secure understanding of how young children learn. The management team encourages staff to attend training, attain new qualifications and explore different ways to deliver the curriculum. Staff are highly motivated by this. They meet the expectations of the management team and fulfil their roles with real passion. This makes for a curriculum that is exciting, fun and inspirational for every child. All children, regardless of special educational needs and/or disabilities, circumstance or stage of development, make exceptional progress.
• Children are confident communicators. They are able to communicate effectively long before they can verbalise words. Babies hold babbling conversations with staff. They pause, listen to adults' responses, think and reply. They show a tremendous grasp of what speaking with others entails, before they even say their first words. Older children advocate for themselves. They beam with pride as they excitedly highlight things that are unique about themselves. They are assured in the knowledge that they are important and differences are to be celebrated.
• Children value the feelings of others. Staff are such strong role models that children know how to behave admirably within their peer groups. Children rush to help one another when they see a peer is struggling with a task. They offer words or encouragement and praise to those who need them. They share, take turns and consider one another with empathy and respect.
• The management team recognises that partnership working is a key element of a successful curriculum. The team is keenly focused on building and maintaining effective communication and collaboration with parents. Parents appreciate this. They welcome the opportunities to further enrich their children's learning at home. Children benefit greatly from this consistency. For instance, some parents learn the value of reading to children from an early age due to the support of the management team. They actively engage with the on-site library and cherish story time with their children. This helps all children to build an early love for literacy.
• Staff help to prepare children for their futures. A key element of the curriculum is to provide children with life skills that will support their learning and growth well after they leave the setting. Children show impressive levels of independence and key knowledge. They are able to assess risks in environments, grow food, express their feelings through art and engage productively with nature. They gain valuable experiences from attending this setting. They are set up with tools that actively support them to succeed.
• Outdoor learning is a strength of the setting. Happy sounds fill the air outside. Older children build dens, manipulate toy vehicles and play chasing games with their friends. They build their own obstacle courses and manage calculated risks with ease. Babies show they are true explorers. They have ample access to learning outside, enjoying just as much challenge and fun as their older peers. All children's personal development is robustly supported.