Hind Leys Pre-school and Natural Play Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled in this magical setting. They develop strong attachments with their key person, which helps children to feel safe, secure and ready to learn. Children have a voice in the setting. For example, they share ideas, choose the activities they want to participate in and make collective decisions about the routines of the day.

Outdoor play is an integral part of children's experiences while in the setting. Pre-school children take part in regular activities linked to forest school. They learn about keeping themselves safe, taking manageable risks and having the freedom to explore the natural environment. Children manoeuvre their bodies between logs and branches, calling for their friends to set them free. Other children use their imagination and work together to build a campfire. They huddle around as they thread leaves onto twigs to represent marshmallows. Younger children also benefit from the enabling outdoor environment. Babies grin and giggle as they splash in puddles. They show great perseverance in negotiating their way over a bridge by crawling or walking.

Children behave exceptionally well. They contribute to the rules of the setting and demonstrate a clear understanding of them. For example, older children respectfully remind younger children of the expectations. Children work together well and undertake tricky tasks. They help each other to find solutions, which helps to develop children's confidence, promoting a 'can-do' attitude.

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

• The manager and staff have made improvements since the last inspection. They have all completed safeguarding training. This has improved their knowledge and understanding of identifying and reporting any concerns about a child's welfare. The manager has made changes to the setting's safeguarding policy. It clearly states what action to take should there be an allegation made against a member of staff.
• Children show high levels of confidence in their independence skills, such as putting on their coats and boots. They are proud to take part in daily routines, such as being 'special helpers' for the day. The 'special helpers' ring the bell to alert children that it is time for the next part of their routine. They support their peers at snack time and choose children to go and play with by giving them a 'high five'.
• Staff find out about experiences children have had before starting at the setting. This helps them to understand what children already know and can do. However, staff do not always use this information well enough to plan for children's learning from the outset.
• Parents have lots of positive things to say about the setting. They comment that they feel privileged for their children to attend. Parents appreciate the beneficial experiences their children receive through forest school activities and the outdoor learning approach. They share that staff keep them up to date with their child's progress and know their child's next steps. However, staff do not consistently share ideas with parents to help them support their children's learning at home.
• Children's communication and language development is well supported. Staff continually model and extend children's vocabulary. Children develop a love of books from an early age. Staff skilfully read stories to children that keep them engrossed from start to finish. Children use recall skills to remember what happens next and finish the staff member's sentences. They chant, 'super worm is super long and super strong', as they stretch their arms and flex their arm muscles.
• Staff have a clear curriculum intent for the setting and implement activities based on children's interests. For instance, children show an interest in malleable play. They experience playing with clay and add water to it. Children are fascinated as the texture changes, and they let the clay ooze through their fingers before moulding it into their creations. This helps children to develop their small-muscle skills and hand-eye coordination in readiness for future writing.
• Children are extremely well behaved and are consistently praised by staff for acts of kindness and achievements. This fills the children with great self-esteem. Even the youngest children are confident and eager to share their experiences with their friends, staff and visitors. For example, children tell visitors what activities they like and who is their special friend at the setting.
• Management values the staff and places great emphasis on their well-being and professional development. Staff benefit from regular supervision meetings and training. This gives the staff confidence in their roles and enables them to progress in their career. Staff comment that they have manageable workloads and are happy working in the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen systems already in place for establishing children's developmental starting points and learning from the outset
• improve strategies for sharing activity ideas with parents so that they can support children's learning at home even further.