Outdoor Owls Guildford

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders work together to monitor children's progress in detail. They diligently review the support in place for each individual child, ensuring that it is targeted and effective in closing any gaps in learning quickly. They work in partnership with the local authority early years team and other external professionals to seek support and strategies for each child. For example, they use specialist speech and language resources and assessments to adapt and tailor support for children. Staff swiftly identify and assess children's individual needs through a plan, do and review process, ensuring that any barriers to learning are removed. Staff work with families to understand their child's needs. Any support is agreed together and families take an active part in support plans.

Leaders understand how to use any early years pupil premium funding to ensure the impact for disadvantaged children is maximised. Leaders actively train and support all the staff team to understand how to support all children. Staff are proficient at using the tools available to them to support their teaching. This means that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or any other barriers to learning make excellent progress in all areas of their development and learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

The comprehensive curriculum meets all learning and development areas of the early years statutory framework. Leaders deeply understand the quality of the curriculum and teaching that all staff deliver. They dedicate time to review what they want children to learn and how best to teach it. They understand the impact of decisions to enhance or adapt the curriculum on outcomes for all children. As such, any changes are undertaken in a measured and managed way.

Staff expertly teach children purposefully and meaningfully. Every moment is used as a teachable one. They take every opportunity to promote children's language skills. For example, staff sign with children and use a range of rich vocabulary, including mathematical words, to build children's vocabulary and communication skills.

Staff place a high focus on children's physical, personal, social and emotional skills. The uniqueness of the curriculum allows for these areas of development to be supported in tandem. For example, children build gross motor skills using a bow saw with support from a teacher. They learn perseverance, resilience and problem-solving when the wood is difficult to cut.

All staff assess children's development highly effectively. This allows them to explicitly tailor their teaching to each child's needs. Equally, all staff are skilled at adapting their teaching to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or any other barriers to learning, ensuring that any barriers to learning are removed or minimised.

Achievement: Strong standard

All children make rapid progress through all areas of the curriculum. In particular, children excel in their communication and language. They learn new vocabulary quickly and consistently throughout the day. For example, they learn the names of birds round the lake, such as mallard, stork and pheasant. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or any other barriers to learning make swift progress. For example, children with speech delay close their gaps in learning swiftly and effectively.

All children are incredibly well prepared for their next steps in learning and starting school. They learn a wealth of personal, social and emotional skills on a daily basis. For example, they learn self-regulation within the calming environment of nature. They learn self-belief through challenging play such as tree climbing or navigating uneven ground. These skills build their self-confidence and independence and give them a positive attitude to learning and achieving.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

The setting has an extremely positive culture. This filters through to create a positive environment where children flourish. The uniqueness of the setting being fully outdoors means that extra safety precautions and risk assessments are in place. All staff work hard to teach children their expectations of them. All children understand and follow the rules in the setting. During circle time, they energetically recall how to stay safe and the consequences of not following the rules. All children's behaviour is exemplary. Staff and children's relationships are secure and there is mutual trust between them. This allows children to fully explore their environment safely. Staff expectations always reflect the age and stage of development of the children they support. Leaders have high aspirations for all children. For example, they actively promote consistent attendance and punctuality while remaining flexible to families' needs.

Staff understand how to support children to get along with each other. The culture within the setting supports children to play together collaboratively. There is a huge number of opportunities on offer for children to work together to achieve outcomes. For example, children problem-solve together to fill and decant a wheelbarrow with water. They persevere together up and down an incline to water plants with the water they have collected.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

All staff know the children incredibly well. They are attuned to children's individual needs, allowing them to respond to children's needs throughout the day. For example, some children sleep only when they need it, and staff are quick to spot the signs of tired children. The routine is created to be flexible and dynamic around children's needs.

Children and babies form secure attachments with staff. Staff attentively meet children's emotional needs through a range of support. For example, they tailor support to suit each child through hugs, talking or playing when children seek reassurance. This approach supports children to identify, express and manage their emotions well.

All staff support children to develop a comprehensive understanding of their safety, health and wellbeing while attending this outdoor setting. They teach children to respect the boundaries in place in this unique setting. For example, children can recall why they have a 'no picking, no licking' rule in place as children confirm that eating plants could cause 'tummy ache'. Staff teach children about their physical development. For example, staff work with children through their sequence of learning and children understand what skills they have learned and what they are yet to learn. They test their skills out through tree climbing, hiking and physical play.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders are dedicated to providing unique experiences for all children. They spend time rigorously evaluating the setting and the experiences for children. They do this with accuracy and put plans in place to ensure they are continuously driving the quality of care and education forward. Every decision is reflected upon in detail to ensure it will impact all children positively. Leaders quickly identify children who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities and any other barriers to learning. They work collaboratively with all the team and parents to minimise any barriers and improve the outcomes and experiences for all children.

Leaders actively promote the wellbeing of all staff. All staff have access to a variety of schemes that support their wellbeing. Leaders prioritise staff wellbeing over undue workload. As a consequence, all the team are extremely happy in the setting. This positive and happy culture can be felt through the setting and creates a harmonious environment. Leaders have high aspirations and expectations for all the team. There is a multitude of training and progression available for staff. For example, leaders partner with the University of Copenhagen to enhance their knowledge of the forest school curriculum. Many of the staff team are trained in-house to progress into leadership roles or to undertake further qualifications.