Hidden Valley Indoor Site

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders create an inclusive culture where children with additional or special educational needs and/or disabilities take part in the same routines and learning as their friends. Children of all abilities are equally included and challenged to improve and develop. Staff act and use different strategies to ensure that children can achieve, whatever their starting point is. Staff know children's needs and adjust their words, reassurance and practical help. This helps children communicate, settle and join in the full range of activities available. Staff also know how to stand back and reduce support as children become more confident and independent, allowing them to grow in confidence and take more risks, and stepping in again to offer support when they feel children need them. Children who speak other languages are also fully supported to share their home languages to help them feel settled, familiar with routines and valued.

Leaders learn about all the children's individual needs through good parent partnerships and work in collaboration with parents to support children. They seek advice from other professionals and make changes when children need extra help, such as support with communication. Staff, including apprentices, know what children can do and what they are learning next. Leaders understand local referral and funding routes. They signpost families to support and know how to use the suggestions other professionals have made to have an impact on the children.

Some assessments, referrals and funding decisions remain in progress, and leaders do not yet use a consistently established review cycle for every child receiving additional support. Consequently, they cannot always demonstrate how well each strategy is reducing a child's barriers or whether support should be adjusted as the child's needs change.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have designed a purposeful outdoor curriculum influenced by curiosity, using the natural world and real-life skills. They know what they want children to be able to do now and next. They use the tools and natural resources of the forest, the areas of learning in the early years foundation stage and children's interests to shape the curriculum.

Children learn through their interests, carefully chosen activities and real experiences in the woodland. Attention is paid to children's personal, social and emotional development, as well as their behaviour, independence and growing confidence. Staff calmly help children explore their feelings through books, clear expectations and positive role modelling. Language and vocabulary are a key part of interactions and support children's literacy. Staff adapt how they teach and when they intervene to support each child's learning needs. Children have individual learning goals, which are recorded and shared with parents in different ways. Children have plenty of time to practise the skills they need to be ready for school. Activities develop the fine motor skills needed to hold a pencil. Children count, explore measurements and make sensible choices about how they move around the camp safely.

Wider weekly themes help children participate through independent choice, while staff gently guide them towards their next learning. Practical experiences include carrying backpacks, building with forest materials and tackling slopes and uneven ground. These experiences help children become stronger, grow in confidence and learn to take appropriate risks safely.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children facing other barriers, learn alongside their friends. All children have equal opportunities to take part and develop, whatever their starting points. Leaders are beginning to refine the way they teach, using their knowledge of each child to target learning more precisely and extend what children know and can do.

Staff observe children and use what they know about their interests, development and next steps to support learning. However, staff do not consistently share and use their observations across the team to inform planning. Consequently, staff do not always identify which children would benefit from specific individual or small-group teaching. This means that some children have fewer opportunities for precisely focused teaching that revisits and extends what they know and can do.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make considerable progress in confidence and independence. They are involved and active and take part in all everyday routines. They use new vocabulary and mathematical language and talk confidently about their achievements and their play. They work well with others towards shared goals and play confidently on their own. They make sustained progress in communication and language from their different starting points. Children make excellent physical progress. The variety of the woodland helps them develop strength, coordination and control. Their understanding of risks and boundaries helps them challenge themselves safely within the clear limits of the environment.

Children prepare for school through experiences that develop early writing, mathematical understanding and independence. They strengthen the small muscles needed to hold a pencil, practise counting and measurement and manage their belongings and self-care. Children use imagination and role play, natural resources and real tools. They learn to understand their emotions, build positive relationships and solve problems during meaningful play. Children follow their interests and use the space and freedom of the woodland to explore, test ideas and take sensible risks. They sustain attention and deepen their knowledge of the natural world.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children facing other barriers, make progress from their starting points. They communicate more confidently, take part in the full curriculum and become increasingly independent.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Children flourish in a deeply respectful culture where kindness, patience and cooperation shape every part of the day. Expectations are understood by children and applied consistently by all staff. Children use 'kind hands' and 'kind words', help one another and increasingly resolve disagreements with confidence. Relationships between staff and children are warm and secure. Children confidently approach different adults for help, reassurance or conversation. They work well with friends and play independently. Staff use praise, questions and clear reminders so children know what is expected and feel proud of their efforts.

Children show consistently positive attitudes to learning. They wait, take turns and keep trying when something is difficult. Using real tools helps them develop patience, concentration and self-control. Familiar routines give children confidence and help them move calmly through each part of the day. Children increasingly manage their belongings, hygiene and mealtime routines for themselves. They listen carefully to safety messages, remember agreed boundaries and take responsibility for their own actions. Leaders take attendance seriously. They know which children are expected and follow up on absences promptly so that children benefit fully from the experiences available.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children facing other barriers, receive sensitive help to meet the same expectations as their friends. Staff model positive behaviour, know each child incredibly well, create a nurturing environment and recognise when children need more time, reassurance or space to calm themselves. They skilfully reduce this help as children regain confidence and manage more independently.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Children's welfare and wellbeing are at the heart of the setting. They form warm, secure relationships with staff across the team and confidently seek help, comfort or conversation. Staff know children's individual care, sensory and emotional needs. They understand when to offer reassurance, when to give children space and when to step in. Children can rest or choose quiet time whenever they need it. Children learn to understand their feelings through stories, play and everyday conversations. Staff help them think about what may help and how they can support a friend. Children become increasingly able to calm themselves and return confidently to their day.

Children eat healthy vegetarian meals that reflect their individual needs. They feed themselves, drink water throughout the day and develop confidence in making healthy choices. Calm mealtimes and careful routines help children become independent while protecting their health and safety. The setting's outdoor approach also makes an important contribution to children's physical wellbeing. Children build strength and stamina through regular movement and challenge. They learn when to take on a risk, when to slow down and when they need time to rest. Parents value the healthy outdoor approach and the variety of food provided. They report that children eat and sleep better and develop greater physical stamina and confidence.

Sleep and rest are calm, safe and shaped around each child. Staff know family preferences, including how children like to settle and when they should wake. Personal care protects children's dignity, safety and comfort. Staff quickly notice when children need reassurance, space or quiet. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children facing other barriers, receive care that responds to their sensory, emotional and physical needs.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders have a clear vision for a child-led outdoor setting. They understand the benefits and challenges of their model and make thoughtful changes in children's best interests. They have improved the way children use tools, adapted the provision during very hot weather and identified the need for more quiet spaces. Grant funding will support further improvements to the base camp.

The setting is still new, and the leadership and staff teams continue to develop. Managers work on different days and use shared systems to pass on information and make decisions. Leaders consider staff wellbeing and workload when planning changes. They are managing maternity cover, apprentices completing qualifications and new staff joining the team.

Leaders support professional learning through apprenticeships, shared training and the expertise already in the team. Staff can use recorded guidance on forest school tools, and experienced colleagues are ready to mentor others. Leaders make decisions in the interests of all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, children known or previously known to children's social care and children facing other barriers. They work with families and other professionals, so support remains joined up. Links with the local care home community enrich children's experiences through intergenerational visits, and parents can contact leaders easily.

Leaders know the setting's strengths and have identified suitable ongoing priorities. They are beginning to refine how managers evaluate the setting's work, share information and develop staff across different working patterns. Leaders do not yet consistently ensure that staff use and share their observations of children to plan precise individual and small-group learning experiences. This means that some children do not benefit consistently from focused teaching that targets, revisits and extends their identified next steps in learning.