Meli Poppins Childcare

Inclusion: Strong standard

Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, as well as those who face other barriers to their learning or wellbeing, consistently. Leaders, alongside their staff team, are wholeheartedly committed to ensuring these children reach their full potential. Leaders and staff have a robust understanding of their role for inclusion. They are quick to identify children's individual needs. Leaders and staff then act on these needs swiftly. They do all they can to ensure that children get the right support in a timely manner.

Staff have a deep understanding and knowledge of children's needs. Along with other professional advice, they form tailored support plans, so children make speedy progress from their starting points and succeed. For example, children who are not yet able to communicate verbally benefit from signing, which helps them to know when an activity is finished and that it is snack time. Staff have implemented visual aids to support children with transitions. This has supported them to feel better prepared when moving from one part of the routine to another. Children receive a bespoke approach to their learning journey by staff, including where children have had significant barriers to communicating. Staff have thoroughly worked to build children's confidence in talking in small groups, through carefully increasing group times, ensuring they set children up for success.

Leaders and staff rigorously monitor children's progress. They are extremely thorough in reviewing the support and the impact this is having on children. Staff create an inclusive environment for all children, including those who may face barriers to their learning. They work tirelessly to ensure partnerships with parents and carers and professionals, to help offer tailored support, opportunities and experiences.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders and staff have created an ambitious and inclusive curriculum for all children across all areas of learning. Leaders and the staff are relentless in their approach to evaluating the curriculum and their commitment to continuous improvement. Teaching is of a consistently high standard across the setting. Staff use their expert knowledge of each individual child to bring the curriculum to life in a meaningful and impacting way. For instance, staff provide opportunities for toddlers to practise sharing. They plan learning experiences that are tailored to each child's individual needs and shared interests. Staff demonstrate a deep knowledge of each child by using precise judgement about how long they can wait for a turn, helping children to be successful. Children of all ages develop a love of reading. Babies invite staff to read interactive stories with them. Staff read in a way that builds suspense and captures babies' interest, encouraging them to wait eagerly before lifting the flap to discover what is hiding underneath. This builds on their wealth of vocabulary and communication skills as they joyfully read books and call out new words.

Children benefit from a motivating forest area, where skilful staff weave through plenty of rich learning experiences while being immersed in nature. For instance, 2-year-old children develop their understanding of number through a dice-rolling game. They search for the correct number of sticks for the number they roll. Pre-school children excitedly revisit their learning, such as the animals they have seen on their woodland wildlife camera. This helps them to consolidate their learning. Staff offer children a wide range of highly stimulating learning experiences. They are on hand to develop children's ideas, and learning and thinking skills. Staff are highly skilled in adapting their teaching in the moment to respond to children's thinking.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children are enthusiastic learners who make excellent progress from their starting points, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They demonstrate high levels of independence as they confidently navigate their time at the setting alongside their friends. For example, children are highly confident in getting themselves ready for a sleep or serving themselves lunch at the table.

Children demonstrate excellent listening and attention skills. They listen intently to staff when getting ready and walking over to the nearby forest, ensuring they keep themselves safe. These skills ensure that children are well prepared for the next stage of their learning.

Children are confident communicators. They develop excellent physical skills as a result of the high-quality teaching and well-considered environment. Older children speak confidently in the forest about how to keep themselves safe while using wooden mallets, as they bang stakes into the ground to see if the worms will pop up. They use these with precise control, demonstrating excellent hand-eye coordination and muscle control.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff support children's behaviour by using positive praise, encouragement and setting clear expectations. Children behave extremely well as a result. Staff create calm and inclusive environments where children thrive. Children are clear about what is expected of them. Staff remind them how to keep themselves and their friends safe. On occasions, where children do have minor disagreements, staff respond immediately to support children to resolve any conflict. They ensure that relationships remain positive by continuing to support children after this time and being a positive play partner.

Children invite staff to regularly engage in play with them. Staff respond consistently to children in a warm and nurturing way. Staff use a short-group activity that uses an exciting bucket of toys to help children build focus, attention, and communication skills. Children giggle with delight and excitement as they await the next surprise object that is shown to them. They show genuine joy in their learning. Children benefit from a highly tailored approach to their age and stage of development. Staff consider children's individual needs and adapt their teaching, so that children get the very best out of experiences. For example, when children use interaction strategies that may not be readily understood or accepted by others, staff respond promptly and sensitively. They offer positive alternatives, such as encouraging children to give their friends a high five, so that everyone can take part in the activity. Staff also explain this to the other children, helping them understand that children are interested in playing with them.

The baby room is unhurried. Babies benefit from plenty of enriching activities and learning experiences. They excitedly dance and move their bodies and ribbons to upbeat music with staff. Babies and children benefit from highly tailored care needs through trusting relationships. Staff ensure that children get quality one-to-one time during these times. Leaders encourage positive attendance and follow up on absences with parents and carers and monitor this.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Children's wellbeing is at the heart of the setting. Children benefit from the warm and trusting relationships that they have with their key person and other staff. As a result, they thrive at the setting. All staff know children exceptionally well and this enables children to feel safe and secure. Children receive reassurance where needed, either through positive touch and cuddles or verbally. Staff suit this to children's individual personalities.

Children receive consistent support to develop a sense of personal safety and how to keep themselves safe in numerous situations. For instance, toddlers receive support to safely use the climbing bridge. Staff remind pre-school children how to keep themselves safe during a walk to the forest and why this is important. Children receive comfort from trusted staff if they have any accidents at nursery. Staff acknowledge how children might be feeling, which supports children to recognise these emotions for themselves.

Opportunities for children to develop their independence skills are consistently embedded through the daily routines. Children are often involved in preparing lunch for the nursery, where they talk about the importance of eating vegetables, so their bodies are healthy. Staff have a robust process to ensure that all children's allergies and dietary requirements are safely catered for. Children with medical conditions are well cared for by the knowledgeable team and have individual care plans in place.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders and staff have a highly accurate understanding of the setting's strengths. They have taken prompt action when they identify any areas of improvement or where children need additional support. Leaders speak ambitiously about how they plan to make the setting even better in the future, by building on the secure foundation of what they have achieved already. Leaders and staff are passionate about children being part of the local community. For example, they often take buses to visit local shops or visit a local school for their Christmas performance. Staff work in close partnership with parents and carers and other professionals to ensure that every child meets their full potential. Leaders take swift strategic action to reduce any barriers to children's learning and ensure each child's needs are met. There is no delay in leaders and staff putting new or adapted approaches in place where they believe they will benefit children's development and wellbeing. Leaders and staff have developed positive and effective partnerships with parents, who speak very highly of the setting. They report how well they are listened to and supported. Parents value the electronic communication they receive throughout the day and the detailed conversations at the end of the session.

Robust recruitment procedures are in place. Staff feel equipped and highly supported to fulfil their roles. They report they feel like their wellbeing is a priority at the setting. Staff are very well supported to excel in their roles. Staff attend a variety of professional training courses and are able to instantly put their learning in to practice. For example, most recently, they have attended training around how children's brains develop and what they as educators can do to support this. Staff speak proudly about how this has influenced the way they interact with children. It has strengthened their understanding of how to support brain development through learning experiences that not only extend children's learning, but also help to consolidate it.