Harbourside

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders are highly ambitious for all children, including those who face additional barriers to their learning. For example, leaders use additional funding well to improve children's attendance and support their emotional regulation.

Leaders thoroughly consider the individual needs of all children attending the setting. They ensure staff receive detailed information from parents and professionals about children before they start. As a result, new starters quickly make progress with their confidence and learning.

Leaders closely monitor and assess children who need additional support. Staff move quickly to address any developing areas of concern. For example, leaders work collaboratively with parents to create written 'play plans' for children who struggle to communicate. These plans ensure that all staff know, for instance, how children communicate and what motivates them. This helps staff quickly build on what children know and can do.

Leaders act swiftly on the recommendations of specialist professionals. Leaders combine this advice with the up-to-date knowledge staff have of individual children. For example, staff have updated a self-regulation chart to help children with special educational needs and/or disabilities communicate how they are feeling. In addition, leaders ensure children known or previously known to social care receive consistent emotional support and predictable routines that help them feel safe. This helps all children with additional needs make excellent progress, particularly with their social and emotional development and communication.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have devised an ambitious curriculum that builds children's self-esteem, social confidence and understanding of the natural world. Staff carefully plan frequent explorations of the local environment, for example, trips to the local nature reserve and beach. Staff use these outings exceptionally well to extend children's knowledge and vocabulary. For example, staff encourage babies to notice different types of plants and insects. They teach older children about habitats so they can observe insects in context. Although children achieve well in their communication and language development, staff do not consistently use mealtimes as rich opportunities for social conversation. As a result, children do not always benefit from opportunities to build language or extend previous learning further at these times.

Staff ensure children have opportunities to strengthen their physical development both indoors and outdoors. For example, staff encourage very young children to use their fingers and palms to trace and smear shaving foam across surfaces. Staff support older children to reach and stretch as they paint walls with water. Staff make these learning experiences exciting and inclusive for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Occasionally, space in the toddler room is not always used effectively during busy sessions. As a result, children's resources sometimes spill into other areas, which creates clutter and congestion.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children develop self-help skills rapidly. Babies learn to hold and tear their food. Toddlers use knives and forks with increasing control. Older children collect their food and tidy away when they have finished. Children show they are consistently building their independence skills at every stage.

Older children securely develop skills important for their move to school. Pre-school children confidently grasp pencils and use them with control. They hold scissors safely to cut paper. Children show a love of books and stories. They are extremely well prepared for the next stage of their development.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make excellent progress with their communication and language. Very young children rapidly develop their speech, quickly progressing from individual sounds to single words. Children learn to regulate their emotions with sensitive support from staff. New starters settle quickly and build the confidence needed to make and maintain friendships. All children consistently make excellent progress from their starting points across all areas of learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They reinforce the rules of the setting consistently. They remind young children to share and to take care with each other's work. This helps children learn how to communicate and cooperate.

Staff are inclusive. They adapt their communication style to help children with additional needs understand tasks. For example, staff give children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) the confidence and language to take part in group discussions about their artwork. This helps children with SEND feel valued and increases their enjoyment of the setting.

Leaders monitor staff practice to enhance routines for children. For example, leaders have successfully improved transitions for all children at lunchtime. This has helped children start their lunch more calmly. In addition, leaders work collaboratively with staff and families to monitor children's engagement and attendance. This ensures sessions are suitable for every child.

Typically, activities and outings are well organised and support children's individual needs. On occasion, in the toddler room, the arrangement of resources is not organised in the best way. This means that, during free-flow play, children do not always move as effectively between activities as they could.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Staff help all children access a wide range of outdoor physical activities. These include outdoor walks, construction tasks, water painting and sand play activities. These inclusive experiences promote children's physical development and foster a love of fresh air and exercise. Staff teach children how to stay safe, for example identifying and avoiding stinging nettles and staying together.

Staff consistently teach children about healthy food. They comment on the tasty meals at lunchtime to encourage positive attitudes towards eating. Staff provide high levels of care to ensure safer eating practices are followed. For example, food temperatures are routinely checked, and children with allergies and intolerances are extremely well supervised.

Staff help children to develop their personal hygiene routines. They support toddlers very well to transition from nappies to the potty securely. In addition, staff ensure that safer sleep practices are observed for all children who sleep at the setting.

Staff follow impactful strategies to support the emotional needs of children who have barriers to learning. For example, staff comfort babies with songs, rhymes and smiles. This gives young children reassurance during times of transition. In addition, staff respond promptly and effectively to children's medical and welfare needs. Across the setting, staff work with passion and commitment to keep children safe, secure and happy.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development of the provision. Leaders have already made changes to develop the quality of staff interactions with children. This has had a positive impact on children's emotional regulation during transitions at lunchtime. Leaders are continually reflective of their provision. For example, they recognise the need to better organise the placement of activities in the toddler room and take swift action to address this. In addition, they are strengthening the high-quality interactions between staff and children at mealtimes. Leaders have the capacity to make rapid, sustained and impactful improvements in both areas.

Parent partnerships are particularly strong. Parents are grateful for the support their children receive from knowledgeable staff. For example, leaders create tailored educational plans that are frequently reviewed in detail. These plans are shared with parents and staff.

Leaders are passionate about enabling children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to reach their full potential. This is evident in the embedded support for all children with SEND across the provision. Leaders also use funding wisely to improve outcomes for children who face barriers to their learning and attendance.

Leaders spend time among the children daily. They use their first-hand knowledge of children's needs to provide peer-to-peer feedback that continually improves staff practice. There is a robust induction programme in place, and leaders ensure new staff have manageable workloads. Staff, both established and new, report that they feel very well supported. Staff wellbeing is very high.