Enchanted Wood Preschool Ltd- Little Nest

Inclusion: Exceptional

Leaders consistently make a demonstrable difference to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They use highly engaging strategies to ensure that children's needs are continually met. Leaders and staff engage superbly with professionals. Leaders offer support for other settings children attend, helping staff to enhance their environments and writing support plans to focus on the child's individual needs. This ongoing partnership ensures that the barriers children face are identified and addressed swiftly. For example, leaders meet with staff who have completed specialist training and parents to implement strategies that encourage children to develop communication, so children make independent choices and access learning.

Leaders work closely with professionals from the local authority to support children and families. Staff complete training to enable them to support children's individual needs brilliantly, for example, supporting children who struggle to recognise the feelings of hunger through food-inspired sensory trays. They visit parents and offer support. This ensures that everyone uses a consistent approach to strategies that support children's individual needs, so children flourish from their starting points. For example, professionals from the local authority introduce transition cloths to help children feel calm during times of transition. Staff take the coloured cloth, say the name of the place and lead children to that place, so children associate each cloth with a particular place. This supports children to regulate their emotions and know what to expect before transitions.

Staff who have completed specialist training attend weekly to support the speech and language needs for children in the deferred unit. They model effective practice for staff and support the implementation of strategies and one-to-one interventions. Leaders support practitioners from across the local authority to develop their own practice and support children at their settings. The excellent practice and support children receive are disseminated to other settings, giving children the best start to their learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders consistently embed high quality teaching and interactions across the specialist provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to support children to achieve. Leaders create a culture where highly effective teaching and engaging interactions with children are embedded. They focus teaching on children's individual stage of development. Staff effectively use strategies such as transition cloths and/or singing for transitions that prepare and engage children, so they are always ready to access learning.

Staff know what children already know and can do. They effectively use children's individual next steps to plan impactful learning opportunities that supports children's individual needs, so children consistently flourish. Staff know children well and plan activities together that support children to develop very well in their language, physical development, and personal and social emotional development. For example, staff use lunchtimes to focus on developing children's communication and language targets. They support and encourage children to make choices and communicate their needs using communication boards. Staff use targeted language to meet the individual needs of children alongside other communication methods, to support children's development and understanding. For example, staff use communication boards and communication buttons to encourage children to make choices, so children develop independence. This supports all children to make continued progress from their individual starting points.

In ballet, staff effectively encourage children to run like their chosen animal, march on coloured spots and wave to strengthen large muscles. Staff support all children to engage. They consistently adapt teaching to meet the changing needs of children. Staff point to pictures as children sing, to reinforce days of the week. Children sit in a semi-circle facing staff. Staff always support children who need reassurance. They encourage children to join in with songs and actions. Staff support older children to count and recognise numbers. They put numbered leaves in the tuff tray along with toy insects, cereals, raisins and sweetcorn, this encourages children to engage and supports children's sensory needs. Children eat, pour and scoop foods in the tuff trays, developing small hand muscles. All staff get down to children's eye level when they talk to them, so children feel secure and develop a trusting relationship.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children at this specialist provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities consistently achieve well from their starting points. All children receive support that helps them to make progress and reach their individual milestones. Children consistently learn to make independent choices, be confident, express themselves and be well prepared for their next stage of learning. They express their wants and needs. For example, children point to words and pictures on communication boards and/or press communication buttons with the words 'drink', 'more', 'snack' and 'bathroom'. This supports children's language development and independence and prepares children for their next stage of learning.

Children sing songs, clap and stamp their feet in response to instructions. They strengthen large muscles as they jump on the trampoline and develop small hand muscles as they stack coloured cubes and engage effectively in posting activities. Children catch and scoop shaving foam in their hands and use their senses to explore. Children count bugs in the sensory tray, as they eat and scoop cereal. They make shapes with their fingers in foam and they feel happy.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff embed high expectations for rules and routines across this specialist provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff consistently support children with to share, take turns and treat others with kindness. Children who like their own space, learn to tolerate others around them. For example, during 'baby ballet' children want the same hand puppet. Staff talk to children and support them to take turns. All staff model high expectations. They use words and sign language to teach children about good manners. For example, staff encourage children to say and sign 'please, thank you and more please'. They consistently use praise to reinforce children's positive behaviour and learning. Leaders and staff embed rules, routines and boundaries to support children's learning. Children know what to expect. For example, staff use transition cloths to support children to transition effectively from one room to another. Each coloured cloth represents a room. Staff take the cloth, say the room or place and lead children, so children transition calmly, knowing what to expect when they arrive. Leaders create a harmonious setting where rules and routines for behaviour and positive attitudes to learning are embedded.

Leaders prioritise children's attendance and punctuality with parents, so children attend regularly and arrive in time for circle time.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Staff embed policies and practices that support the mental, emotional and physical health for children at this specialist provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff sit with and support children at mealtimes to ensure that children eat safely. Routines for care and hygiene are consistently embedded across the setting to support children's individual needs. For example, staff play the 'wash your hands' song to encourage children to wash their hands. Leaders and staff support children to develop healthy lifestyles. They embed routines that support children's physical skills, for example, soft play, sensory circuit, baby ballet and outdoor play. Staff encourage children to drink water throughout the day.

Staff use highly effective strategies to support children to communicate their needs to ensure that all children feel happy and enjoy learning. They prioritise children's personal needs and safety and support children to regulate their emotions. For example, they talk to children about different emotions, encourage them to express emotions as they look in the mirror and offer support, such as stroking their backs when they become upset, so children feel calm. Leaders consistently prioritise children's welfare. They ensure that all staff know and implement policies and procedures that support children's welfare and wellbeing. Staff know children and families well and support their changing needs. All routines are deeply embedded, so children consistently develop healthy lifestyles.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders consistently have high expectations for children's learning outcomes and experiences at this specialist provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They form positive partnerships with professionals that support staff, children and parents, so children continuously make progress from their starting points. Parent partnerships are extremely positive and communication is highly effective. All parents share milestones children achieve since attending the nursery. Leaders support other nurseries with inclusion, so children consistently access personalised learning. They are highly impactful in meeting needs of children and their families. Leaders strengthen partnerships with mainstream schools. For example, they recently supported a school to set up a sensory room.

Leaders develop an indoor-outdoor space with a new sensory room. They hire out the nursery at weekends to the community. Leaders use funding effectively to pay for specialist professionals and staff, so children consistently access learning that meets their individual needs.

Leaders support all staff to maintain a healthy wellbeing, so the nursery consistently meets the needs of children and their families. They value staff and prioritise staff wellbeing, so staff enjoy working at this nursery. Leaders embed high expectations for continuous learning. Leaders have developed a highly impactful training academy, so staff can complete specialist childcare qualifications. They adopt a highly inclusive approach across the nursery. New staff have an effective induction where they buddy up, so they settle and advance skills quickly. Those that are responsible for the governance of the nursery visits each week, to ensure consistency in practice. Leaders develop staff into team leaders. They encourage staff to do children's annual review meetings, so staff consistently develop. This supports Leaders to focus on upskilling staff to embed interventions with children throughout the day.