Hargrave Park School - Under Three Provision

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children love attending Hargrave Park School - Under Three Provision. Children enter school with smiles on their faces and even the new little babes, settle down to activities quickly. The strong values are brought alive in what the school provides. It is a school that helps children to be courageous, creative, respectful and valued. Leaders have ensured that all adults uphold the highest expectations and aspirations. Children like to talk about what they are learning and what they know, for example, about autumn, investigating pumpkins and eating fruit during snack time. Adults are wonderful role models for children. They show them how to be kind and respect others.

Children are very well behaved. Consequently, the school is a purposeful place to learn. School life is enhanced considerably by the wide range of things to do beyond the classroom, such as exploring and celebrating life in London. The school benefits from a beautifully developed woodland garden that is used all year round to enhance the learning, resilience and curiosity of the children. This provides an essential opportunity to explore and encourages risk taking within a safe environment, as well as promoting an understanding of how to care for our world. Parents are extremely happy with the school and say their children thrive. They receive regular information about their children's learning, and are particularly appreciative of the constant stream of photographs they receive, which keeps them fully up to date with what their children are up to.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Leaders, governors and staff are delivering an innovative and ambitious curriculum to all children. They are committed to ensuring that every child that attends, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are offered the best foundation for their future education. They are on the road to successfully making this happen.
• Leaders draw on the best early years research and practice to inform their curriculum. In each area of learning, the curriculum is exceptionally well designed. It gets to the heart of what young children need to know and in what order. Staff are working to ensure that the curriculum enables all children to build firmly on what they already know and can do. Leaders value their staff. They prioritise staff's ongoing training to enable them to become experts in how to deliver the curriculum. This has made a significant and substantial contribution to the quality of education that children receive. As a result of ongoing high-quality staff training, coupled with a purposefully planned curriculum, children's achievement is very good. Children are well prepared for their next steps in education, and because the provision is so well integrated into the life of the whole school, transition is smooth and highly effective.
• Staff listen carefully to what children say and they observe exactly what children do. Staff check children's learning carefully. Most of them know just when to step in and when to step back. Consequently, children develop their confidence to try out new and challenging activities. The provision is a hive of activity and caters well for these young children. Staff play alongside children and then make the most of every opportunity for learning.
• Children relish learning to count while playing with the play dough or painting. They love to listen and join in with the songs that staff sing with them. A wide range of interesting and exciting activities help children to explore their environment. They listen to the sounds around them. They run, climb and learn to express themselves creatively. They learn new skills and deepen their understanding of the world around them. Most staff seize every opportunity to skilfully use their interactions with children to develop their communication and language, although this is still an ongoing development of staff training. This includes children who speak English as an additional language. Adults are quick to build on children's interests and curiosity. They expertly and sensitively add to and reinforce new vocabulary. Children quickly find their voice in the knowledge they will always be heard.
• The school day is built around books, songs and rhymes. The enjoyment of reading and storytelling is a prominent feature of school life. Children gravitate towards adults to listen to a story. They were often seen initiating storytelling by taking a book to an adult to share with them and their friends. Staff draw on children's growing vocabulary and knowledge of story language. Children practise their growing knowledge and understanding of stories as they play with puppets and props. For example, children delight in acting out the story of 'Rosie's Walk'. Children also enjoy making up their own versions of the stories they have been immersed in.
• Staff, with the support of the school's special needs coordinator, are particularly effective at identifying and supporting children with SEND. They expertly use their knowledge of each child to put just the right strategies in place to make sure that children get the support they need. Children with SEND, as well as those from families in challenging situations, blossom and succeed alongside their peers. Children achieve well and are fully involved in the life of school.
• The personal development of children is carefully nurtured. Children, as well as adults, can be heard extolling the Hargrave values, such as 'being kind and helpful' and 'everybody is important', for example, when they play with each other and when spotting characters in stories that are not sharing or saying sorry. Staff give sensitive support and guidance to help children talk about and manage their feelings. Leaders and governors lead by example. Governors hold leaders fully to account for their work. Staff feel exceptionally well supported with their workload and well-being. Staff are very proud to work at the school.