Muddy Boots Drighlington

Inclusion: Expected standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported by staff, who know them well. They identify and assess children's needs swiftly. Staff set achievable targets that help children make secure progress across all areas of learning. Leaders have appropriate oversight of the support provided for children with SEND. They ensure that staff have appropriate training and development opportunities to develop their skills to support children with SEND. This means that all children typically receive support that is appropriate for their individual needs.

Partnership working with parents and carers and other professionals who support children is effective. This ensures that any interventions are targeted and impactful. Interventions are shared with parents so that they can continue these at home, to further support children's development. Thorough monitoring of children's progress helps staff to plan and amend further support as children's needs change. Additional funding is used to further enhance provision for children with barriers to learning. For example, additional resources and books are purchased to support children who need help to regulate their emotions.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have a clear focus on ensuring the curriculum meets all children's needs. They amend and enhance the curriculum regularly and adapt it to meet the changing needs of children who attend. A recent review identified improvements that have now had a positive impact on the progress that all children make. Leaders adapted provision to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and other learning barriers. This includes taking account of children's interests and what they want them to learn next and reflecting this within the activities available. This ensures that all children benefit from the varied learning that is offered.

Staff support children to develop their communication and language skills. Staff typically engage with children on the child's level. Staff sing songs with babies, such as 'The wheels on the bus', as they move cars through gloop. Some children clap along while others sit and listen. Staff introduce simple mathematical concepts, such as counting up to 3. They use language such as 'small' and 'large'. They help children develop their small muscles by providing opportunities to use scissors and other utensils. There is a focus on supporting children to develop their independence. Children learn to share and make choices, which supports their personal, social and emotional development. Occasionally, the youngest children are not fully supported to develop their understanding of health and hygiene as they play. The ongoing development of staff skills to bring about improvement will support this to develop.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children demonstrate the skills that they have learned. They use language such as 'one more' as they play. Children show confidence as they share out objects, counting them out and returning for them later. They match numbers to the corresponding number of objects.

Children independently wash their hands after activities and before they eat. They say that they need to wash their hands to get rid of the germs. Children ask for help to engage with their friends. They seek out opportunities to play together, are kind, happy, share and take turns. Children blow up balloons to fuel their cars' movement and then measure how far it travels with a ruler. They use weighing scales and work out that if one side goes down, the object is heavier.

Children's independence shines. They persevere, such as when trying to tie their hair up out of their face. They make independent choices. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make progress in all areas of learning and are generally well prepared for their next stages in education.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Staff understand and support children at different ages and stages of development. They consider this when helping children to learn what is expected of them. For example, small-group sessions with young children help them to learn alongside each other and develop relationships. Older children learn to share, take turns and tidy up their toys. When children need extra support to manage conflict, staff are on hand to sensitively support them to navigate this. They help children to learn important skills that support them in later life. Staff are positive role models. They model what is expected of children, such as being kind to each other and listening to others. Relationships between staff and children are positive and respectful.

Leaders ensure that parents and carers understand the importance of regular attendance. They have discussions with parents about the benefits of children attending all of their sessions. Breakfast sessions are offered to further promote this and to help children prepare for school.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Staff help all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to understand their feelings and emotions. They use books and associated resources to help children understand and express their emotions and feelings.

Leaders and staff place emphasis on children's wellbeing. Leaders recognised that transition times, such as moving from outdoors to indoors or from breakfast to morning activities, were a little unstructured with some children not managing well. Changes have been made to ensure that children are more supported at these times. Children are comforted by staff when they are unsettled or upset. Staff sing and talk to them, helping them to feel safe and secure as they transition between different times of day. This is having a positive impact on children's wellbeing.

Staff typically help children to understand how to keep themselves healthy and safe. They supervise children well while they eat and encourage children to wash their hands at different times of the day. However, younger children are not consistently supported to understand more about their health and hygiene as they play.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Staff wellbeing is prioritised by leaders. They ask parents and carers for feedback about what staff are doing well so that this can support staff's practice further. This helps to develop staff's confidence and self-esteem. A comprehensive package of wellbeing support is offered through the organisation for staff. For instance, this provides help and support for life issues and counselling.

Training and development has recently focused on enhancing the curriculum to ensure that this benefits all children, including those with barriers to learning. Staff have undertaken training opportunities that help them to understand the intents behind their practice and how this links to child development. Leaders monitor the effectiveness of training by ensuring that staff embed their learning in the setting. Some staff have completed leadership training to help them to progress in their careers. Regular opportunities to discuss their development help staff to enhance their practice over time. Leaders focused on supporting the development of senior staff to promote their confidence in modelling practice to support newer staff.

Leaders reflect on strengths and typically identify what could be improved. There are some inconsistencies in staff's practice, which leaders reflection processes have not identified. Leaders understand that there is scope to fine tune their evaluation procedures to support continuous improvement even further.