Little Tree Woodland School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel comfortable and secure at the setting. They arrive confidently and greet staff warmly with affectionate cuddles. Staff welcome parents to come into the setting to settle their children to an activity. Children are eager to show their parents what they have chosen to play with and happily wave their parents off when they leave.

The provider, who is also the manager, and the staff plan a broad and challenging curriculum. Children are curious about the natural world as they explore and investigate the forest school. They confidently collect insects, examine them closely in their hands and talk about their features. For example, the children discuss the appearance of centipedes and how to care for the worms. Staff support and encourage children to develop their strength, balance and coordination, such as when climbing trees. They remind the children to climb carefully and to think about how high they feel safe to go, to help them to assess risks for themselves. Children develop confidence in their abilities and are keen to try new things and take part in activities. They demonstrate a positive attitude to learning and are well prepared for their next stage of learning.

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

• The provider has worked hard to make improvements. Since the last inspection, they have taken steps to keep children safe and to meet children's needs by reviewing the organisation of the daily routines. Children have the time and space to fully immerse themselves and concentrate on their chosen activities.
• The provider and staff work together well and the team morale is high. The provider meets with the staff regularly to discuss their ideas, training needs and the children. For example, following recent training, staff have made plans to develop even closer partnerships with parents and extend children's learning further at home.
• The provider and staff take account of the children's interests and are skilled at supporting children's learning. For example, when children find some wild fungi, the staff encourage them to use a reference book to find out more about it. The children are fascinated and tell each of the staff members what they have learned about the fungi. At times, staff do not consider how to challenge children and target their learning needs more precisely, to extend their learning further.
• Staff model a broad vocabulary to teach children new words. For example, they use descriptive language, such as 'stiff', when talking about the texture of play dough and name items that children come across in their play, such as 'stethoscope' and 'centipede'. Children are confident to initiate discussions with their friends and staff. However, at times, staff do not consider ways to support children to work things out for themselves and express their thoughts and ideas.
• Staff know the children and promote their emotional well-being effectively. They model polite and respectful relationships with each other and the children. Children learn from the staff to use 'please' and 'thank you' at appropriate times, which helps them to develop friendships. When children hurt themselves, such as after touching stinging nettles, they calmly and self-assuredly consider if they need help from staff.
• Parents speak very positively about the setting and staff team. They comment on the close relationships between their children and the staff and the progress they have seen in their children's social skills and confidence. Parents receive detailed information from staff about their children's learning and development.
• Children are highly imaginative. For example, they excitedly invite staff to accompany them on a 'trip to the east' to search for the 'yeti'. The children confidently announce, 'follow me, I'll take the lead!'. Staff play along with enthusiasm to the children's delight.
• Children know and understand the routines and they manage their self-care needs independently. For example, they remind adults of the need to wash their hands before eating and help each other to use the foot-pedal water pump.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's support for children's individual learning needs to provide additional challenge and target their next steps more precisely
• support children to think about and respond to questions and to share their thoughts and ideas, to extend children's communication and language further.