Playwam Preschool

Inclusion: Strong standard

Staff know children and their families extremely well at this highly inclusive setting. They quickly identify children's starting points and provide targeted support. Staff make helpful adjustments so that children can participate successfully. For example, they provide adapted cushions that support children to sit comfortably during story time. They work closely with parents and carers to meet their children's individual needs. Leaders regularly review provision to ensure all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make excellent progress.

Staff work in a highly effective way with families and external professionals to remove barriers to children's learning. Staff consistently use visual timetables, props and actions to ensure children transition effectively and remain engaged. Leaders target early years pupil premium funding to enhance disadvantaged children's experiences, particularly through high-quality physical play. Leaders provide regular and high-quality training to support staff to accurately and swiftly identify emerging needs early. Staff receive effective support to access further training to extend their knowledge of how best to support children with SEND, or those who have gaps in their learning.

Leaders rigorously monitor the impact of funding. They regularly evaluate outcomes to ensure resources deliver clear and measurable improvements in children's experiences and development. Leaders use this evaluation to refine and maximise the impact of support.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders design a highly ambitious and carefully sequenced curriculum that responds precisely to children's needs. This ensures the best possible start to children's education. Staff use their secure understanding of child development to build consistently on what children already know and can do. They clearly identify the next steps in children's learning. Staff embed core books successfully across the setting to enrich children's language, promote vocabulary and enhance their understanding. Notably, cultural and community diversity is consistently promoted throughout the curriculum. The setting adopts purposeful and relevant topics, such as 'around the world' and uses key texts, for example 'The Snail and the Whale', as a hook into children's learning.

Staff plan purposeful physical development activities that connect with children's prior experiences and enable them to deepen their skills. For example, children enjoy balancing on the beam and participating in 'bike time' in the outdoor area. They enjoy strengthening their gross motor skills and improving their core strength. Staff consistently develop children's use of ambitious mathematical language through counting rhymes with actions. Staff lead high-quality music and singing opportunities that support children to enhance their personal, social and emotional development. They become familiar with a range of songs, instruments and vocabulary. Music time is a multisensory experience that children and staff thoroughly enjoy. As a result, all children develop confidence, independence and an excellent foundation for future learning.

The curriculum reflects children's interests and community experiences while covering all areas of learning. Staff use meaningful opportunities to broaden understanding and prioritise communication and language through consistently clear modelling, rich vocabulary and open-ended prompts. They organise learning to match children's ages and stages. Staff adapt their teaching appropriately to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Consequently, children show high levels of engagement, listen attentively and express their ideas with increasing confidence.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make demonstrable progress from their starting points. They achieve extremely well across the curriculum, with their communication and language developing securely. Children who start with limited vocabulary now speak confidently. They use a widening range of words and apply new learning in different contexts, such as joining in with key words from songs during music time. Children show resilience and perseverance, such as by practising and making a range of marks with the paint.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children take part in clear, targeted interventions that enable them to make secure progress from their starting points. Children thrive on consistent praise and encouragement from leaders and staff, which builds their self-esteem and motivation, supporting them to achieve. They work cooperatively during planned activities and daily routines, such as snack time and tidying away. Children show respect for one another and their environment.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Staff promote positive behaviour through consistent and well-embedded routines and a high emphasis on regular attendance. They tailor their approach thoughtfully to reflect children's individual needs, levels of maturity and stages of development. As a result, children feel safe, secure and motivated. They engage very positively in their learning.

Children demonstrate that they securely understand the rules of the setting. They work together with their peers to tidy up. Each group of children tidies a key area of the space. They cooperatively tidy away the equipment with care. This gives them a deep sense of responsibility and ownership over their environment. Children line up swiftly when they hear the little bell ring and get ready to wash their hands in preparation for snack time. They smile with pride when they hear positive feedback and receive specific praise about what they have done well.

Key persons know their children remarkably well and form very trusting relationships that supports children's emotional wellbeing. These secure attachments give children the confidence to explore the environment independently and develop early learning behaviours.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders and staff establish a highly secure and inspirational environment, where children feel confident, valued and eager to learn. A carefully balanced blend of purposeful structure and open-ended exploration ignites children's curiosity, awe and deep engagement in their learning. For example, with close supervision, children take turns to carefully balance on the beam, showing both confidence and an emerging understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Leaders and staff demonstrate an uncompromising commitment to high-quality and responsive care. They consistently promote a culture that celebrates every child's individuality. Staff meet children's emotional and physical needs with sensitivity and precision. This creates a highly secure environment in which children feel safe and supported. Children have cosy, calming areas and highly attentive staff on hand, who support them to regulate their emotions.

Children understand the importance of self-care and maintaining hand hygiene. They wash their hands before eating snack and after they have used the toilet. When they have runny noses, they independently access tissues. Children wipe their noses, put the tissue in the bin and then wash their hands afterwards. They explain that 'it helps to move the germs'.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders provide highly effective strategic oversight of the setting. They demonstrate an informed understanding of the local community and the needs of the children who attend. Leaders and staff actively seek and value the views of children, parents and carers and colleagues. They use this insight to plan engaging provision that reflects children's interests and meets the needs of all children. Leaders invest in high-quality, ongoing professional development. This strengthens staff's expertise, confidence and consistently improves practice across the setting.

Leaders and staff build consistently excellent partnerships with parents. Parents consistently celebrate and praise the warmth and dedication of the team. They value the guidance they receive that supports their children's development. Parents describe the setting as 'a village' that nurtures and supports the whole community.

Staff work effectively with other settings and professionals to meet the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work together to ensure children's experiences are consistent.