Milford Pre-School Plus Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish in this exceptional setting as a result of dedicated staff. Leaders and staff have crafted a home-from-home atmosphere that celebrates children's experiences. For example, children twirl happily when showing dances important to their cultural traditions, while others explore their family languages through voice recordings linked to photos from home. This helps children to proudly share their lives and cultures with others.

Children's opinions are highly valued. Staff frequently ask children to explain their choices and encourage them to vote on rewards for group achievements. At all times, staff empower children to contribute their ideas and to know that what they say is important. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) develop their confidence rapidly because teaching is fully inclusive and staff go above and beyond to meet children's individual needs. This fosters children's positive self-esteem and enables them to thrive.

In the forest school, staff provide effective supervision while giving children the freedom to explore. Staff assist children to think in greater detail about the rules and why they are important, for example considering why some trees are unsafe to climb. Children's behaviour is impeccable and shows they listen well. High-quality relationships with staff give children the security and confidence to assess risks for themselves. Consequently, through careful trial and error, children learn to master a range of physical skills, for example how to distribute their weight on a rope swing for a safer balance and better swing. Children enjoy becoming increasingly independent.

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

• Leaders have created an extremely nurturing learning environment with an inclusive, well-sequenced curriculum. Staff seamlessly support children of all ages and abilities to learn together by planning adaptable group activities that meet children's individual needs. Leaders ensure staff are clear on their understanding of how children learn. In addition, they use feedback from schools to extend and refine staff's teaching of mathematics and literacy. This supports children's rapid progress and enhances their readiness for school.
• There is excellent support for children with SEND and those with speech and language difficulties. Staff make accurate assessments of children when they start and use this information to identify any delays in development. Staff work closely with parents and specialist professionals so that children receive the targeted support they need at the very earliest stage. As a result, these children have made remarkable progress from their starting points.
• The forest school leader and staff work hard to ensure that the forest school is central to children's experiences and development. Staff skilfully use natural resources to hook children's attention. For example, they teach children how to create embers to safely light a fire or how to listen for and match trilling birds with their songs. Staff help children build a positive relationship with the natural world through these memorable hands-on experiences.
• Staff embed the exploration of letters and sounds throughout the pre-school, developing children's speaking and listening skills early on. Staff have high expectations for all children and, where appropriate, extend children's early literacy skills, for example teaching children to connect spoken sounds with letters. This prepares children well for the teaching of more formal phonics programmes at school.
• Experienced, inspirational leaders organise regular observations of teaching practice. They provide constructive feedback to staff to help ensure that teaching remains at the very highest quality. Additionally, staff receive regular supervisions to discuss opportunities for further training. This ensures staff consistently learn new skills to support individual key children in the best possible way. Staff report feeling very well supported by leaders and their sense of well-being is high.
• Staff teach children the importance of fresh sustainable food through use of a well-kept allotment. Staff give children seeds that they nurture indoors, then later plant outside. Staff teach children how to care for their plants and harvest their fruit and vegetables when ready. In addition, parents and staff tend to the allotment in their own time, which helps to build and maintain a positive sense of community around the pre-school.
• Leaders regularly assess the impact of the indoor environment to improve outcomes for all children. For example, a change to the layout of the role-play space has now created a purposeful self-serve snack area. Calmer conditions in this new zone make social conversations easier for children and promotes their independence. In addition, leaders consult parents through regular questionnaires and use their feedback in close collaboration with all stakeholders to extend and improve the provision where possible.