Happy Little Hedgehogs

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff are passionate about ensuring all children achieve significantly from their starting points. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those facing barriers to their learning and development are provided with highly effective tailored support. Leaders ensure staff are very well equipped to identify children's needs and next steps quickly. For example, staff access specialist training, support and advice from other professionals to ensure all children make significant progress.

Staff use assessment to target support and ensure children are provided with individual learning and development plans to meet their personal milestones. Leaders and staff rigorously review where gaps in learning are identified, and the effectiveness of interventions put in place to support children. They carefully monitor children's progress and skilfully adapt support where needed. This ensures they continually make a sustained difference to children's outcomes.

Leaders use additional funding very effectively to meet children's needs, providing them with specialist resources and making adaptions to the learning environment ensuring all children can fully access all areas of the curriculum. Leaders ensure they prioritise support for children with SEND and those facing barriers. Staff plan activities and experiences to ensure all children develop important communication and physical skills. For example, children who could not walk when they started now move around the setting independently. Children who did not speak at first, have developed into confident communicators.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Staff plan an ambitious and motivating curriculum. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those facing barriers to their learning access a wide range of activities and experiences to successfully broaden their knowledge and skills. Staff use a range of assessment methods effectively to ensure they meet the needs and interests of all children. Staff prioritise children's communication and social skills effectively. For example, babies enjoy joining in with actions when listening to favourite rhymes. Older children take turns and share when exploring items hidden in sand together. Staff help children develop their mathematical skills very well. For example, babies are supported to learn to count when exploring sensory items in a tray. Older children learn to identify numerals, developing their understanding successfully.

Staff are calm and kind in their interactions with children. They praise and encourage them, developing children's confidence. For example, children with SEND enjoy learning to swing in a hammock outside. Staff celebrate when children succeed, supporting children's self-esteem effectively. However, leaders recognise that at times, some opportunities for children to further develop their independence skills are not yet consistently embedded across the setting. Despite this, children develop the necessary skills to be ready for school successfully.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make excellent progress across all areas of their learning, in relation to their starting points. This means all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those facing barriers to their learning and development transition smoothly to school. Children are provided with the necessary knowledge and skills to support the next stages in their learning. For example, children know how to keep themselves healthy, talking together about healthy foods and the importance of drinking water. They look forward to going to visit the local dentist to learn how to brush their teeth. These experiences support children's understanding of how to keep themselves safe and healthy successfully.

Children progress very well through the curriculum. They are provided with a wide range of activities and experiences to support their learning and development. For example, children with SEND and those facing barriers to their learning and development are provided with tailored and individual support to help them achieve. Children are supported to use visual pictures and sign language to communicate their needs and wants. This supports them to communicate and socialise with others very well. Where leaders accurately identify that they need to support some staffs' confidence to consistently offer further opportunities for children to develop their independence skills this does not impact on children's overall achievement.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Children benefit immensely from embedded routines and staffs' high expectations for them. Staff praise and encourage children to understand the rules of the setting, supporting them to feel safe, secure and belong. For example, older children immediately respond to requests from staff, offering to help tidy up when activities are over. Babies choose their own water bottles at snack time and put them away when finished demonstrating that they know what is expected of them.

Staff use visual aids and sign language to help children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) understand what is happening next and to make choices about what they want to do and play with. As such, children display consistently positive attitudes to their learning and others. Children develop strong friendships and behave very well. Leaders create a very respectful environment. Children with SEND are provided with tailored support to help them manage their own feelings and emotions. Staff are calm and patient in their approach. This helps support children's understanding of others needs very well. Staff work very closely with families to establish positive routines at home, such as helping them to ensure their children attend regularly, significantly improving children's later outcomes.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders and staff ensure children develop strong bonds from the start supporting their wellbeing successfully. Babies respond with smiles and beam at favourite staff demonstrating very secure attachments. Older children treat each other with kindness and care. For example, children wait for their friends when washing their hands before meals. Staff are very good role models. They support children to apply suncream before going outside. Older children talk about being the importance of this when out in the sunshine. Staff ensure children receive highly effective support to make healthy choices and as such, children consistently make healthy decisions about food and exercise. These activities support children's understanding very well.

Leaders and staff are highly responsive to the changing needs and circumstances of their children and families. For example, embedded routines and settling in procedures ensure new children settle very well. Babies are provided with unique individual transitions to ensure their needs are fully met and that families feel very welcome. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers are supported very well to learn about their own emotions and feelings. As such, all children behave well and are very eager to attend.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders accurately identify the settings strengths and areas of focus. They regularly review practice and provision and are passionate about offering high quality care and education. They especially prioritise supporting those more vulnerable, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning and development. As such, children make significant progress from their starting points. Leaders and staff have developed very effective partnerships with other professionals, the local community and outside agencies to ensure families are offered swift, timely and effective support. For example, leaders work closely with local setting and school managers to share resources and expertise, ensuring children and families have very smooth transitions to their next learning stage.

Leaders prioritise staffs' workloads and wellbeing. They provide a range of training, support and coaching. A culture of high expectations and professionalism is embedded throughout the setting. Staff are well trained and are encouraged to take on additional qualifications to support their ongoing knowledge and skills. Where leaders have identified further support is needed for some staff, they have a secure plan in place to ensure consistency of practice. Staff welcome feedback on their practice and have a consistent focus on securing excellence for all children. Leaders' engagement with parents is strong. Parents appreciate the personalised support they are offered to ensure their children thrive.