Chearsley and Haddenham Under Fives (Haddenham)

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff work tirelessly to create an inclusive, nurturing environment where every child feels welcomed and valued. Staff complete precise and regular checks that help them identify emerging gaps in children's development quickly. When concerns arise, they respond swiftly and effectively. Drawing on leaders' expert knowledge and external specialist advice, staff work closely with families to plan clear, achievable next steps. This coordinated approach enables children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are disadvantaged and those known to children's social care, to engage purposefully in their learning at the setting and at home.

The ambitious curriculum is thoughtfully adapted for all children to succeed. Leaders train staff to use visual prompts, targeted small group work and tailored resources to strengthen children's communication, confidence and independence. Additional funding is used precisely to support individual children who are eligible for it. For example, high-interest games are purchased for children who speak English as an additional language, as well as others identified with speech delay. As a result, these children make increasing progress and, within a short time, can correctly name colours of different objects in English.

Children with barriers to learning thrive in an environment that offers experiences they may not have encountered before, such as growing vegetables in the setting's garden. Staff skilfully adapt activities so that these children benefit fully. For instance, picture cards showing quantities of fruit help children understand how many pieces they can take for their snack. Some children have only recently joined, initially unsure of routines and expectations. Through consistent, sensitive support, they now follow these routines with impressive confidence and independence.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders strategically design a well-structured curriculum that is precisely tailored to children's interests, needs and abilities. They ensure staff have a secure understanding of the progressive curriculum and an in-depth knowledge of child development. Leaders support staff to plan effectively for progression, enabling children to revisit and deepen essential knowledge and skills as they move through the setting. Regular meetings between leaders and staff ensure children's assessments are reviewed carefully, checking how well each child is developing and identifying what they need to learn next.

The learning environment is extremely well organised and promotes purposeful exploration and problem solving. Writing opportunities are thoughtfully set up across the indoor and outdoor areas, resulting in children showing a keen interest in recording their marks. Staff consistently respond to spontaneous moments in children's play and skilfully move learning forward. For instance, while children locate areas of the garden on a treasure map, they hear and use positional language, which promotes their mathematical development around space. Each child's existing knowledge and skills is carefully considered, where staff ensure learning is well matched and meaningful.

There is a rich focus placed on language development. Leaders recognise the importance of immersing children in stories and have worked effectively with staff to implement highly stimulating, story-based activities. Staff use high-quality texts, stories, poems, songs and props to introduce new vocabulary and help children use it confidently. For example, the newly acquired garden den has been transformed into an inviting role play space for, 'the three little pigs', complete with real objects. Staff join children's play and expertly link their actions to events in the story. Intertwined with these high-quality interactions each member of staff recognises opportunities to teach early mathematical concepts, such as children counting small amounts of pieces of fruit at snack time and encouraged to 'add one more'.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make highly effective progress from their starting points across all areas of the curriculum. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and others who face additional barriers to their learning, benefit greatly from staff's consistent tailored teaching. Children of all ages maintain focus during group activities, outdoor exploration and independent play. They show high levels of curiosity and confidently draw on their previous learning to solve problems. For example, when playing with water, children experiment with different objects to block the flow so that they can continue their play. They develop into confident, resilient and logical thinkers.

The atmosphere is rich with purposeful exchanges between staff and children, who respond with a clear appetite to learn new things. Children's vocabulary widens rapidly as they engage enthusiastically in daily songs, recall story events from familiar stories and encounter creative language during play. Even the youngest children repeat phrases from 'the three little pigs' with accuracy and expression. Older children extend their understanding further when staff skilfully introduce new words, such as 'dam', and then explain how beavers build dams in real life. This not only strengthens children's vocabulary but also deepens their knowledge of the wider world.

Through high-quality interactions and well-planned experiences, children develop confidence, increasing curiosity and a secure foundation of knowledge and skills that prepares them well for their future learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders work collaboratively with parents and carers to secure high attendance and punctuality. They know their community extremely well and adapt their approach to meet the evolving needs of families. For example, leaders use additional funding to increase sessions for those children who face barriers to their learning. This ensures these children benefit highly from consistent, individualised teaching that accelerates the narrowing of gaps in their development.

Clear expectations are shared from the start, and staff now rarely need to remind children of the familiar rules and boundaries securely in place. Children, including those with barriers to their learning develop positive behaviour through their warm relationships with staff, well-structured routines and purposeful learning that takes place the whole day. This ensures children feel safe, valued and ready to learn at every opportunity.

Even the youngest children quickly understand what is expected of them through the consistent language used by staff and older children. As a result, all children move with confidence and freedom between activities indoors and outdoors, showing high levels of independence and a growing sense of responsibility. This is evident when children help staff set up the snack table. They take immense pride in their efforts, frequently stepping back to check that everything is correctly arranged. Children listen carefully to instructions, take turns with maturity and show genuine consideration for others.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Children's welfare and wellbeing are firmly placed at the centre of the setting's work. Leaders and staff are passionate about making a meaningful difference to children's experiences, and they achieve this with great success. Trusting and respectful relationships with key persons give children the confidence to thrive socially, emotionally and academically. Knowledgeable staff competently enhance children's sense of self-worth, helping them understand that perseverance leads to further improvement. To support children's emotional development further, leaders and staff implement calming techniques. For instance, they encourage children to lie on the grass in the nearby park and use their imaginations to describe shapes and objects in the clouds. These extremely positive qualities are embedded in children and equip them well for life-long learning.

Children are supported effectively to understand how to keep themselves healthy through exercise, a nutritious diet and effective hygiene routines. Younger children, as well as those new to the setting and those who speak English as an additional language quickly learn what is happening and what will happen next. For example, when they see the snack table being prepared, they independently approach staff and gesture that they need to wash their hands. From the outset, children are encouraged to be fully independent and show confidence in managing their own self-care.

Children learn about people who play vital roles in their community. For instance, parents and carers contribute by helping to build a wooden garden den, which staff then regularly transform into an inviting space linked to current learning themes. This area is very popular with children, who smile, giggle and engage with their friends and staff as they role-play. Staff know children's unique personalities extremely well, and work proactively to support them to understand and manage their feelings. Their highly responsive approach helps children build resilience and secure personal and social skills effectively.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

The highly knowledgeable and experienced leaders demonstrate a firm commitment to providing the very best care and education for all children. They are highly reflective and have an accurate overview of the setting's strengths and areas for improvement. Leaders continually review, refine and adapt the provision to ensure it remains at a consistently high quality. Additional funding is used effectively to support those children who receive it, such as purchasing high-interest games that successfully enhance children's vocabulary.

Leaders rigorously monitor staff practice and identify personalised professional development opportunities. This helps to ensure that the delivery of the curriculum remains consistently effective and continually evolves to suit the needs of children. They instil immense confidence in staff and support them well to manage their workloads. Staff thoroughly enjoy working at this inclusive setting and feel valued and supported. Consequently, morale is extremely high, creating a warm, calm and productive environment for staff and children.

Leaders have a deep understanding of the potential barriers that may affect children's learning. They work very closely with staff, external professionals and families, providing expert guidance, targeted support and effective strategies to ensure every child makes the progress they are capable of at the setting and at home.

Leaders work proactively with families to fully understand their individual circumstances to provide the best support for their children. For example, they implement personalised transition programmes with the schools that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are going to attend. They are highly effective at ensuring that all children thrive in their learning and development, setting them up for future success going forwards.