Muddy Munchkins

Inclusion: Strong standard

This is a highly inclusive setting where staff maintain a clear and consistent focus on meeting the needs of every child. Practitioners work in close partnership with parents to ensure they understand and recognise children's needs, making timely referrals to specialist services where appropriate. Staff access a wide range of specialist special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) training, enabling them to adapt practice so that provision is accessible and securely embedded across all areas.

Advice from external professionals is implemented consistently, ensuring strategies are applied effectively and have a positive impact on children's progress. Leaders actively promote ongoing professional development, supporting staff to extend their expertise in areas such as speech and language and SEND leadership. This results in a knowledgeable and confident team.

Practitioners know all children extremely well as individuals, not only within their key groups. Assessment is used effectively to identify emerging needs at the earliest opportunity. All staff have a secure understanding of the graduated approach, which is applied consistently in practice. Leaders also support parents to access funding and ensure it is used purposefully to meet individual needs. The staff maintain up-to-date knowledge in relation to SEND matters, engage with local authority support, and ensure high-quality practice is embedded across the team.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders have designed a clear and ambitious curriculum that focuses on resilience, independence, oral communication, open imagination, transition to school and secure attachment. This curriculum is consistently understood by all staff, who confidently demonstrate how it is embedded in daily practice. Parents are well informed and receive regular updates, ensuring they remain connected to their children's learning.

Physical development is at the heart of this outdoor setting and is consistently prioritised across the curriculum. The environment is carefully designed to provide rich opportunities for children to run, climb, balance and explore, supporting their coordination, strength and confidence. Alongside this, children grow fruit and vegetables, care for them daily and take responsibility for pets, which further encourages active engagement and deepens their understanding of the natural world, seasons and change.

High-quality interactions are evident throughout the day. Staff follow children's interests, using comments, open-ended questions, modelling vocabulary and making thoughtful suggestions to extend learning. Songs, rhymes and stories are embedded across the routine, with children showing enthusiasm, joining in confidently and listening with sustained attention.

Mathematics is consistently threaded through play, with staff making full use of opportunities for counting, recognising patterns and exploring shape and size.

Children benefit from secure attachments with staff, who support them to recognise and express emotions. There are rich opportunities for creativity, exploration and experimentation across all areas of learning.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children are positive, engaged and excited learners who demonstrate a consistent enthusiasm for exploring their environment. This curiosity is deeply embedded in their daily experiences as they confidently access resources and follow established rules. Children freely share their love of learning, showing independence while also seeking support from staff when needed. Their ability to link prior experiences is evident; for example, their interest in the story 'Superworm' inspired them to recall finding a worm the previous day. This led to further exploration, where they independently selected magnifying glasses and searched for bugs in familiar places such as under logs and rocks. Such behaviours highlight their growing confidence, curiosity and understanding of the natural world. Through these meaningful and connected experiences, children are developing essential skills and attitudes, ensuring they are well prepared and resilient for the next stage of their learning journey.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Routines are clearly established, and staff consistently implement them to meet the needs of all children. Staff embed these routines within daily practice, which helps children feel safe, secure and able to thrive within the setting. Children demonstrate positive behaviour because all staff provide consistent support and show a clear understanding of each child and their individual needs. Children show positive attitudes to learning by sharing their excitement, talking about what they know, and confidently asking questions to extend their understanding. Staff support children to develop strong social skills, including sharing, taking turns and playing cooperatively, which helps them build positive relationships with their peers.

Staff implement clear and well-organised attendance procedures and share them effectively with parents to support a consistent approach. The setting promotes inclusion by embedding thoughtful adaptations where necessary to ensure all children can access opportunities and experiences. Staff act as calm and positive role models and use their interactions purposefully to support and guide children's development.

The leaders provide clear guidance and encouragement to the team, creating a supportive leadership approach. Staff reflect this approach through their consistent and positive attitudes as they work collaboratively to maintain a welcoming and supportive environment for all children.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders prioritise wellbeing and welfare through consistent and effective practices across the setting. All staff know children well as individuals, understand their needs, and respond attentively to their emotions in a calm and supportive manner. Staff use purposeful interactions throughout the day to help children feel secure and understood. From the outset, staff gather information to identify individual needs early and work closely with parents to maintain consistent routines for sleeping, eating and toileting, which supports children's development.

Staff follow clear and appropriate care procedures consistently, including safer sleeping practices. They maintain a clean and organised environment that promotes children's health and wellbeing. Staff support physical development and healthy lifestyles through daily opportunities for movement and a balanced approach to activity and rest. They promote healthy eating through carefully planned meals and home-made food, while following clear procedures for food preparation.

Staff establish strong hygiene routines and consistently follow clear systems for handwashing and nappy changing. These approaches support children's wellbeing and welfare within a safe, nurturing and organised environment.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders have developed the setting thoughtfully since its establishment by building their knowledge and leadership skills over time. They demonstrate a clear and reflective understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development and take effective action to support continuous improvement. As a result, they have created a distinctive provision with a well-defined curriculum that reflects the vision of the setting. This approach has gained recognition, and others now seek their advice on establishing similar provision.

The staff team works cohesively, with all members contributing to ongoing development and improvement. Leaders foster a culture in which staff value and share ideas, supporting a collaborative and consistent approach across the setting. Parents provide highly positive feedback because families feel well informed and speak highly of the provision and staff, particularly valuing the outdoor approach to learning.

Leaders prioritise professional development by ensuring all staff access training opportunities. They remain approachable and supportive, listen to staff, and share relevant information to keep the team up to date. They also carefully consider staff wellbeing and workload. As a result, team members report feeling supported and valued in their roles, which contributes to a positive and stable working environment.