Beccles Forest Schools

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this exceptional outdoor setting. They skip along the meadow path and arrive at the gate with big smiles. Children see their friends and greet them with hugs, asking, 'Can we make sandcastles together?' Children show that they feel safe and secure. They confidently explore the natural environment and quickly become deeply absorbed in their play. Children show self-motivation as they search for bugs. They become mesmerised by crawling ants and let them walk across their hands. Children investigate pond surfaces, expertly using nets to scoop water and leaves. Children are delighted when they catch a small fish. Staff intensify children's fascination, giving clear narration of what the fish is doing. Children take a closer look and gasp with delight.

Staff create a wonderful atmosphere of 'awe and wonder'. They use highly effective teaching strategies to stimulate children's curiosity. Staff show children 'magic' boxes. They gradually reveal clues and invite children to accept the 'mission' of finding the 'fairy queen'. Children listen and participate with high levels of engagement and interest. They show excitement as they rush off to search for hidden clues. Children are extremely happy and tell staff, 'I knew I was going to have a lovely day'.

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

• Staff have developed a curriculum that is ambitious for all children. Learning is consolidated through revisiting activities, ensuring knowledge is embedded. Staff confidently deliver the curriculum through inspirational teaching. As a result, children make excellent progress.
• Children have incredibly close relationships with staff. They enjoy spending time with staff and frequently invite them to join their play. They snuggle next to staff to share books and clamber onto their laps for cuddles and reassurance. Staff treat all children with the utmost respect and kindness. Settling-in sessions are tailored to suit individual children. As a result, new children settle extremely quickly and form close bonds with staff.
• Opportunities for physical play are immense across the spacious site. Children show high levels of stamina and strength as they run, climb, crawl and balance. Staff promote children's good health. They offer healthy snacks and remind children to drink plenty of water to 'rehydrate'.
• Children's behaviour is exemplary. They share resources and are extremely polite, asking, 'Please can I have that after you?' Children take turns to mix paints. Older children find fishing nets for younger children to use. Staff act on every opportunity to promote children's emotional development, initiating frequent conversations about feeling happy and sad. This has a positive impact on children's emotional development.
• Children are immersed in a language-rich environment and as a result, are competent communicators. Staff expertly use stories, songs and games to promote children's language. Children use a wide range of vocabulary in their play. For example, they make 'superhero gloves' and comment that they feel 'powerful' like 'Theseus and the minotaur'. Younger children add sand into paint mixtures and describe it as 'scratchy and rough'.
• Partnerships with parents are superb. They are kept fully informed of their children's progress through detailed daily handovers and online platforms. Parents comment the setting is like, 'a warm blanket supporting their children'. They say their children love attending and have strong bonds with staff.
• Staff minimise hazards at the site effectively. They undertake thorough risk assessments and have ongoing conversations with children about safety. As a result, children demonstrate a clear awareness of how to keep themselves safe. They remind each other not to touch stinging nettles and model how to walk around the outside of the fire pit. Children expertly undertake their own risk assessments. They arrange planks to walk across and tell each other to 'Be careful' and 'Hold hands'.
• The manager leads with integrity and ambition. She has a clear commitment and passion to improve outcomes for children. She expertly empowers staff to extend their skills and confidence through taking on new responsibilities and reflecting upon training. Staff feel fully supported and say they are 'valued and listened to'.