Friary Preschool

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff ensure that children from disadvantaged families are supported effectively to make the best possible start in their learning and development. The setting receives additional funding and uses this carefully to help children to make excellent progress from their starting points. Parents and carers have a clear understanding of how targeted support plans and resources help their children progress even further, such as in their mathematical development. This focused support lays a strong foundation for future success.

Leaders and staff identify children's additional needs accurately and quickly to reduce any barriers to their development and learning. They actively work in partnership with parents and other professionals to gain support and advice about any reasonable adjustments, adaptations and inclusive practices. This ensures the highest possible support for children's care and education to enable children to thrive, belong and achieve.

Staff provide excellent support for all children's understanding and communication, including children with speech and language difficulties. For example, they expertly use their Makaton training to sign, and they use visual aids to advance the equality of opportunity between children who share and do not share a relevant protected characteristic. Staff actively monitor and assess which children already know a collection of signs when children eagerly demonstrate them during circle time, such as 'Good morning.' Staff teach new signs, such as 'Christmas', to promote good relations between all children.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders have an excellent overview of the curriculum and teaching. They guide staff to design an ambitious curriculum for all children's learning. Staff use their assessments of children's abilities to carefully select curriculum-linked books for a small group-focused session, such as a story about the Nativity, the first Christmas. They skilfully adapt their teaching and ask children different levels of questions, such as 'Where is Mary?' to check their understanding and ensure their participation. Children benefit from high-quality interactions that build on their vocabulary and impressive language skills even further. Staff encourage back-and-forth conversations about the children's personal Christmas lists to maintain their concentration. Children enjoy taking turns speaking and learn to cooperate together in a group. They develop their personal and social skills effectively.

Staff have an expert knowledge of child development and know how to adapt their teaching to support children who have lower starting points for the area of communication and language. For example, they sensitively join in their play at the mud kitchen and talk about what they are doing, to help them hear good language structures. Staff teach children positional language, such as 'in' and 'out', when they spoon conkers in and out of the pan. This helps to encourage speech and extend their physical play skills. Staff actively support children in developing mathematical language while teaching mathematical concepts. For instance, they say, 'one more', modelling spooning a conker into a pan. Children consistently experience high-quality teaching.

Leaders place a strong emphasis on developing children's physical skills and actively promote outdoor learning. They ensure free access to a well-resourced outdoor environment to enable children to engage in purposeful play. For example, children enjoy rolling cars down ramps, and leaders help them compare distances, using numbered cones. This supports their early mathematical understanding and physical development.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children demonstrate their ability to recall curriculum-related stories, expertly read by staff. For example, they eagerly answer questions posed to them and build on their already strong knowledge of the Nativity. Children show they are very articulate and confident to speak in a group situation. This reflects the high-quality teaching they receive.

Staff actively involve parents and carers in discussions about the next steps for children's learning and what they can support them with at home. This contributes effectively to all children making rapid progress from their starting points and closing any gaps in their learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities quickly achieve targeted activities planned for them. For instance, they eagerly observe staff demonstrate a selection of cause-and-effect toys from a bucket to spark their curiosity, such as a wind-up bath toy. Children increase their joint attention skills and secure the foundational skills they need for later learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff maintain extremely high expectations for children's behaviour in line with established policies and procedures. Staff relationships with children are strong. They skilfully model positive interactions, and children listen and respond with respect. For instance, they remind children during circle time of the behavioural expectations for being together in a group, speaking through a toy elf to help them process information, emotions and instructions to keep everyone safe. Children show high levels of concentration and behave extremely well.

Leaders develop innovative approaches to praise positive behaviour. For example, they write kind acts on green paper leaves and add them to branches of an indoor tree. Children begin to recognise their own acts of kindness and successfully manage their own feelings and behaviour.

Children show great kindness, care and respect towards their friends, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For instance, they put their arms around their friends to support them to increasingly engage in adult-led activities and help them learn and achieve. All children are welcomed and belong.

Leaders communicate clearly the expectations for children's attendance to staff and parents and carers and aim to work consistently to establish a regular routine and positive attitudes to learning. They actively help parents and children facing adversity to overcome any barriers to attendance to support their future success.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Staff know children extremely well. They develop strong attachments with their key children to help them to develop a feeling of emotional security and safety. This encourages children to develop the confidence to seek help from adults when they need to.

Staff consistently help children to recognise, articulate and regulate their emotions to foster a secure sense of emotional wellbeing. They teach a broad range of emotion-related words and provide clear explanations of their meaning. For example, children confidently express to adults they are 'angry' when they encounter challenges with sharing. They demonstrate effective self-regulation and appropriate emotional responses, which significantly contribute to their overall emotional development and resilience.

Staff work highly effectively with parents and carers to support toilet training, ensuring consistency between home and the setting. They promote children's health, self-care and independence exceptionally well. For instance, children are extremely confident in managing their own personal routines, such as washing their hands, brushing their teeth and preparing fruit at snack time.

All staff have gone over and above to complete training on children's oral health and actively promote healthy eating habits. For example, they work closely with parents to provide children with healthy, nutritious packed lunches. Children lead active lives. They can make informed choices about whether to take part in daily physical activities, both indoors and outdoors. This successfully supports children to develop their physical and emotional health. Additionally, staff plan regular forest school sessions for children to explore nature and the wider world. Children learn how to stay safe and healthy.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders are excellent and work closely with a very committed and established team. Staff morale is high. For example, staff say they feel fully supported in their roles. Leaders have worked tirelessly with the team to raise the quality of the provision. They have made many impressive improvements to the environment, such as replacing plastic toys with more engaging natural resources. Every aspect of the nursery has been reflected on. Committee members, parents and carers and children have all made valuable contributions in helping leaders to achieve their vision, such as further improving the outdoor area.

Leadership is exceptional. Leaders inspire and empower staff to continually enhance the curriculum experiences for children. For example, they conduct peer observations and regular supervision sessions to ensure the team's planning and teaching skills are consistently refined, leading to exemplary standards of practice. Leaders work effectively with professionals to organise training for staff, such as speech and language training, to further improve the setting's local offer to families.

Partnerships with parents are extremely effective. Parents speak highly about the care and education their children receive and describe staff as supportive and approachable. They feel well informed about the day-to-day activities and their children's progress, such as through face-to-face discussions and a regular newsletter. Staff share ideas to support their learning at home.

Leaders forge strong links with local community services and with the primary and secondary school. For example, the nursery has organised visits from the police, paramedics and firefighters to improve the quality and safety of children's education. Children experience real-life learning opportunities that enrich the nursery's curriculum, which supports their wellbeing effectively.