Bunny Run Childcare Centre & Schools Out Limited

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff have high expectations for all children. They aim for them to have the best possible early years experience. Leaders have a secure understanding of how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They consistently remove barriers to children's learning so that they make excellent progress from their starting points. This means that children can transition to the next stage in their learning with confidence and the skills needed to thrive.

Staff access meaningful and specific training to support children when delays are identified. They then make changes to daily practices. For example, staff use eye contact and add images into the environment for children with language delays. They use simple sign language in all rooms. This helps children who are nonverbal to use words and interact with adults and their peers with confidence. This means that children can make choices about what they would like to do and immerse themselves in nursery life. Leaders rigorously monitor their impact on the experiences of children who are disadvantaged. They spend additional funding to make excellent adaptations for children. These focus on children's specific needs, wellbeing and emotional attachments.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have planned a thoughtful and well-sequenced curriculum that builds on what children know and can do throughout their time at the nursery. The experienced staff team follows children's interests. Staff expertly weave different areas of the curriculum into their teaching. For example, staff use mathematical language as they role play with children. Children then use new words that they have heard. For example, they declare that their cup is now full and that they have too much. Staff aim to use their interactions to extend children's learning. However, some staff are not as confident as others to ensure that interactions are of a consistent high quality in order to always offer challenge.

Language development is a focus throughout every room in the nursery. Children develop a love of books from a young age. Staff sit and share stories so that children hear a wide and varied vocabulary. Staff gently correct children when they mispronounce 'banana' and praise their attempts as they learn to communicate.

Children are given time to be active every day. They access a well-designed and exciting outside space. Children climb on logs and explore the woodland, where they enjoy bespoke sessions led by a forest school leader.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make impressive progress as soon as they start. Their social skills are excellent. For example, children speak with confidence to visitors and welcome them into their space. Children start to develop problem-solving skills and use their imagination from a young age. For example, they work together to work out how to build a train track through a large box. Children enjoy investigating and experimenting. They manoeuvre drainpipes so that they can catch water that they pour down the pipes. This helps to develop their teamwork and critical thinking skills.

Children learn to be very independent as soon as they start. They enjoy mealtimes, where they serve their own lunch and help clean away their plates. Children make choices about what they would like to do and thrive in familiar routines. They transition between rooms with growing confidence, and this means that they are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff set high expectations for children's behaviour. They create a harmonious and respectful culture so that children can thrive. Children know the boundaries that staff reinforce clearly and consistently. For example, children happily walk around the area in the woodland and show where they cannot pass. Children respect the rules and treat their friends with kindness. Staff build positive and respectful attachments with each child. They establish routines, in collaboration with parents, that meet children's individual needs. This helps children feel very safe and secure. Children recognise that they are welcomed and valued as soon as they start.

Leaders work hard to establish highly effective and consistent routines between each room. Staff encourage children to think for themselves and focus on their learning. They know when to intervene and offer support and when to let children use their critical thinking skills. Children enjoy the activities on offer, which ignite and excite their senses. This means that they remain focused and develop excellent attitudes to their learning and to each other. Leaders work hard to promote good attendance. They actively seek to remove barriers for parents so that their children can access the full curriculum on offer.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Children develop strong and positive attachments with staff from the onset. Before children start, they spend time with their key person so that they can get to know them. They soon become a familiar face. Staff take time with those children who need support to settle through respectful and responsive actions. Children who are anxious to start soon arrive full of smiles and nestle into their key person for comfort and reassurance. Staff consider those children who sleep throughout the day. They organise the environment to provide a calm and relaxing space for children to nap. Staff gently pat their backs until they fall asleep. Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging through well-structured routines.

Children are extremely happy. They are proud of their achievements, which staff reinforce with plenty of praise. For example, when children clear rubbish from the nursery woodland, staff explain what an important job they are doing. They use litter pickers and talk about protecting the local wildlife. Children care for the environment and show great respect for and understanding about nature. Activities are adapted well so that all children are fully immersed in their learning. They thoroughly enjoy the time that they spend at nursery.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders are very reflective. They are aware of the strengths of the setting and areas in which they would like to improve. They take a whole-team approach to improve outcomes for children. For example, leaders review and update policies in collaboration with staff. This means that they can ensure they have an accurate overview of each room and that staff can embed procedures into their practice.

Feedback from staff is overwhelmingly positive. They receive support in abundance so that they can do their jobs extremely well. There is a sharp focus on staff wellbeing, and they have access to trained staff when they need some extra support. Staff are very happy in their roles and feed back how much they enjoy working in the setting as part of the team. This benefits children as they are welcomed by staff who strive to do the best for them.

Leaders build relationships with parents before children start. Parent meetings and settling-in sessions mean that families feel confident when they are separated from their children. They appreciate the safe and nurturing team that builds family cultures and customs into everyday activities. They feel valued and listened to. Staff share information about children's progress and provide information on how parents can help their children's development even further at home. This collaborative approach contributes to the excellent progress that children make. Parents of children who face barriers to their learning particularly value the targeted support their children receive. They report that the nursery has been instrumental in providing their children with specialist support.