Fleet Methodist Church Preschool

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders take purposeful action to promptly assess and identify children's individual needs. They gather information from their starting points and continue to do so throughout their time at the provision. When leaders identify needs that require adjustments or adaptations, leaders act swiftly. They put effective systems in place to reduce barriers to learning and support children's overall wellbeing. For example, all staff have learned basic sign language to enhance communication with families of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This enables families to actively participate in their children's experiences at the provision, as well as being directly involved in the two-way partnerships between practitioners and parents.

Leaders and practitioners effectively and regularly assess the information gathered on children's development, create a plan, implement it, and then review its impact. This ensures children continue to receive precisely tailored support that significantly impacts their learning and development as they start to close any gaps in learning and development between themselves and their peers.

Leaders and practitioners have built meaningful and positive relationships with families, professionals and external agencies. They use these partnerships to enhance children's learning, opportunities and experiences. Practitioners speak with parents each morning to gain an insight into how each child is feeling and gently adjust their approach to best support them. When children feel overwhelmed, parents share this and practitioners provide one-to-one time, reading stories before gradually introducing children to the wider group. Practitioners also prepare specific toys and activities that interest children to help create a smoother transition into the day.

Leaders use early years pupil premium funding appropriately, ensuring every child can access enriching extracurricular experiences, such as taking part in visits from the mobile farm.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders have created a well-planned curriculum that all staff understand and deliver. They are reflective and ensure every child experiences high-quality learning. Leaders accurately identify how well staff implement the curriculum and create wonderful activities that bring learning to life. For example, children love mixing potions in the water tray, and others enthusiastically roll play dough into snails, inspired by their favourite stories. Staff design these activities well to develop children's communication, physical, mathematical and literacy skills.

Practitioners are ambitious for children. Children achieve well and remain highly engaged. Practitioners promote children's communication and language development effectively. During rhyming activities, children sound out simple words and decide whether they match. Staff praise their thinking process rather than just the final answer. Leaders model high-quality narration to staff. This supports staff to create purposeful interactions that extend children's vocabulary, communication and mathematical understanding well. Practitioners encourage children to count, recognise shapes and 'pour to the top' when filling containers.

Physical, personal, social and emotional development is prioritised. Children's independence is encouraged from their first days at the setting. Through ongoing assessment, leaders and practitioners adapt teaching for every child. When children experience barriers to learning, leaders and practitioners seek advice from external professionals. For example, leaders and practitioners have created speech and language group sessions to seamlessly incorporate advice given by external agencies into the day. Practitioners know their key children very well and weave next steps seamlessly into daily experiences, helping every child achieve, belong and thrive.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make secure progress through the curriculum from their starting points, particularly in communication and language. They quickly develop key foundational skills, such as independence in personal care. Children are able to confidently recognise and express their feelings and use mark-making tools with control. Their language skills develop significantly, enabling them to listen to stories and then retell them with confidence. This prepares them very well for later learning. Children communicate confidently with staff and each other. They use speech and gestures expertly to organise their play. For example, they roll objects back and forth, discussing which moves faster or slower through back-and-forth exchanges.

Those who face barriers to learning receive targeted support that enables them to fully access the curriculum. They make meaningful progress. Children who speak English as an additional language quickly learn key vocabulary that allows them to communicate effectively with others. As a result, all children are very well prepared for their next stage of learning and development.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders have established a highly positive and nurturing environment. Expectations for behaviour are consistently understood by practitioners, children and families. Practitioners purposefully act as calm role models. Children mirror their behaviours in their own interactions. When conflict happens, staff skilfully guide children through solutions. This helps them understand how to resolve issues independently. As a result, children collaborate well and use consistently polite language. For example, when children's bowls run out of water during play, they politely ask their friends, 'Please can you pour some more in here?' Together, they share and transfer the water as a team.

Practitioners create warm, trusting relationships with children. Their interactions are meaningful, gentle and enriching, which underpin the setting's positive culture. Practitioners know children's developmental stages and individual needs exceedingly well. They offer gentle reminders of expectations when needed. Practitioners ensure explanations are clear and age-appropriate. As a result, children rarely repeat unwanted behaviours. Practitioners comment and give explicit praise about how children do something, such as effort, kindness and turn-taking, which helps children build strong self-esteem.

Leaders prioritise attendance and punctuality. This prepares families well for the expectations of school. Parents understand the importance of regular attendance, and leaders work closely with those who need additional support, celebrating improvements and addressing barriers sensitively. This consistent approach ensures children feel secure, behave well, and develop the attitudes and routines needed for future learning.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders have created an inclusive environment that prioritises children's welfare and wellbeing. Practitioners tailor care routines to meet individual needs. They know children very well. Practitioners adapt routines and levels of support to reflect each child's stage of development. They ensure children who face barriers to learning receive the support they need to thrive. For example, practitioners support younger children with a gentle 'hand-over-hand' approach when opening packets. Older children confidently pour their own drinks. Staff have high expectations for all children. For instance, children know and take pride in washing their own cups after snack time. Leaders use mealtimes consistently to promote wellbeing, independence and positive social experiences for children.

Secure, responsive relationships help children feel safe, settled and ready to learn. Children develop an understanding of their physical development, personal safety and health through daily routines and meaningful conversations. They learn about healthy choices, practise independence in self-care and gain confidence in expressing and managing their emotions. Leaders enhance this learning further through partnerships with local agencies, such as 'health heroes' and 'clean hands' initiatives.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders' actions create a culture of continuous improvement. They ensure children receive the care, support and education they need to thrive. The reflective leaders regularly review the support in place for every child and actively involve practitioners in this reflective process. They value suggestions and feedback, using them to drive continual improvement. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and take purposeful action to swiftly address areas identified for improvement.

Leaders make decisions that are in the best interests of all children, particularly those who face additional barriers to learning and wellbeing. They work effectively with external agencies, using professional advice to shape provision and improve outcomes for children and families. For example, leaders source particular resources to ensure every individual child receives the tailored support they need.

Leaders manage practitioners' workload sensitively. They adapt expectations and give practical support to maintain practitioners' wellbeing. Leaders prioritise practitioners' professional development with purposeful training. They carefully select development opportunities to enhance staff knowledge and practice. This has had a positive impact on the quality of interactions and the support children receive, which enhances their learning and development. Leaders value practitioners' input and encourage their feedback to support important decisions, such as the design of the curriculum.