Muddy Boots

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish and thrive in the highly stimulating and enriching learning environments. They have very positive relationships with staff and have secure attachments with their key persons. Staff expertly nurture and support children's emotional well-being so that they become confident and independent. All children are extremely happy and clearly cherish their time at this setting.

Leaders are ambitious and highly inspirational at providing an exceptional experience for children and staff. Children are captivated in play and continually learn new knowledge and skills. Staff are passionate about immersing children in nature and are highly skilled at supporting them to experience the awe and wonder of the world around them. Children visit the woodlands and nearby beach, which enhances their sensory experiences and ignites their imaginations.

Staff are committed to ensuring that all children receive the very highest quality of care and education. They provide children with a vast range of opportunities to prepare them for the next stage in their learning and their future life. Staff know children exceptionally well. They have very high expectations of what all children can achieve regardless of their background or additional needs. During the COVID- 19 (coronavirus) pandemic, leaders offered additional places to children who could not access their own childcare provision to ensure that no child within the community was left behind. All children make exceptional progress and continue to blossom into curious and inquisitive learners.

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

• The quality of teaching is exemplary. Staff understand their role as educators and are highly skilled at facilitating learning through play. Children follow their own interests and lead their own play. They show high levels of engagement as staff carefully use the changes in the natural environment to enhance children's experiences. For example, children talk about where sticks have come from that have washed up on the beach, and use them to create roads.
• Staff skilfully support children's communication and language development. They have a thorough knowledge of how children learn. Staff use a combination of attentive listening, observing and questioning to extend children's learning and promote their critical thinking. Staff authentically introduce new vocabulary to children within context to help them understand its meaning. Children delight in regular singing and enthusiastically participate in high-quality music sessions led by a member of staff who is a qualified teacher.
• Staff know children extremely well. They monitor their learning meticulously to ensure that all children make exceptional progress from their starting points. Staff set challenging next steps for children and support them to achieve these.
• Children in receipt of additional funding and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities make accelerated progress. Staff promote all children's self-confidence and self-awareness.
• Leaders implement robust recruitment and induction procedures. They undertake peer-to-peer observations and deliver team training to ensure that staff feel valued and respected. Leaders provide regular staff meetings, which focus on mental health and well-being. All staff feel extremely well supported and staff morale is exceptional.
• The leaders are clear about what experiences they want to offer. They ensure that all children have access to the most interesting and exciting learning opportunities. Staff are highly reflective and continually strive to deliver the very best experiences for families. They attend high-quality training and are eager to continue learning and embed the latest ideas into their practice. For example, staff are collaboratively creating their own curriculum to further strengthen the outstanding provision they already offer.
• Partnerships with parents are excellent. Parents share the staff's passion for the setting and are extremely happy with the regular communication they receive. They are thrilled with the progress their children are making. Parents praise the setting for helping to develop their children's fascination with and appreciation of the world around them.
• Leaders and staff establish positive and professional relationships with external agencies and other childcare providers. Leaders support other providers and offer bespoke training for students and other practitioners. Staff ensure that children who are moving on to school have smooth transitions and are well prepared for the next stage in their learning.