Puddles Playgroup

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders have established a caring and inclusive nursery, where every child is known and valued as an individual. They have a secure understanding of children's backgrounds, family circumstances and any barriers that may affect their learning, development or wellbeing. This enables leaders and staff to identify additional needs promptly, implement targeted support and work proactively with families and external agencies where appropriate. As a result, children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those facing additional challenges, receive timely and personalised support that enables them to access the curriculum successfully alongside their peers.

Leaders demonstrate a strong commitment to supporting families. They provide practical support, including hosting a weekly food bank and signposting families to the local Family Hub. This holistic approach helps to reduce barriers to attendance, engagement and learning, ensuring that children arrive ready to participate and thrive.

Leaders use additional funding to meet the individual needs of children and remove barriers to learning. For example, the introduction of a mud kitchen has created rich opportunities for children to develop their communication and language, imagination and problem-solving skills through play. Children who previously lacked confidence outdoors or found social interaction more challenging are increasingly engaged, resilient and willing to explore alongside their peers. Leaders regularly review the impact of additional funding to ensure resources continue to improve outcomes, particularly for children with SEND and those at risk of falling behind, enabling them to make positive progress from their individual starting points.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Staff have a secure knowledge of each child from the day they first start at the setting. They use this knowledge effectively as a foundation for targeted teaching. Staff complete regular observations of children and track their progress using a convenient online assessment tool. Leaders and staff provide children with a broad and balanced curriculum. They focus on building on children's existing skills, which helps children to develop secure foundations for future learning.

Overall, staff plan activities with clear learning intentions. This enables them to deliver well-structured activities that are precisely aimed at narrowing gaps in children's skills and knowledge.

Staff make appropriate adjustments where required. For example, they use signs and gestures to reinforce language and support understanding. Staff prioritise early communication by modelling simple instructions and consistently reshaping language to support children's speaking skills. Communication and language are a strength and are consistently embedded across the provision. As a result, children develop a love of books. They enjoy joining in with familiar stories and independently access books throughout the day.

Staff integrate mathematical learning into everyday routines. For example, during sand and water play, they encourage children to compare sizes. Staff use everyday language to develop understanding of measures, such as full and empty, and support children to explore concepts, such as one more or one less. This helps to strengthen early mathematical thinking.

Leaders and staff enrich children's learning through meaningful community experiences. For instance, children enjoyed a visit from a local football mascot as part of their World Cup celebrations. They are also looking forward to a visit where they will learn about and explore 'creepy crawlies'.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children enjoy their time at the setting and engage confidently in a range of activities. They explore their environment with curiosity and show interest in sensory play, outdoor experiences and creative activities. Children develop early communication skills as they listen to familiar words, respond to simple instructions and begin to express their needs. For instance, they learn to use words, such as 'melting' and 'freezing'. Children develop their fine motor skills as they manipulate play dough in different ways. Children show independence as they confidently make decisions about how they wish to explore a range of sensory experiences on offer. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or emerging barriers to learning are supported to access all activities.

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make steady progress from their starting points. Communication and language development are a clear strength across the nursery.

Typically, children are well prepared for the next stages in their learning, including school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Expectations for behaviour and routines are not implemented consistently by all staff, resulting in children not always having a secure understanding of what is expected of them. Staff respond appropriately to unwanted behaviour and are aware of children who may require additional support with emotional regulation. Positive manners are promoted throughout the setting. However, staff do not consistently use a broad range of effective strategies to explicitly teach, model and reinforce expectations, particularly around turn-taking and sharing. As a result, some children become unsettled or disengaged, reducing opportunities for positive social interaction and sustained learning.

Children form warm and trusting relationships with staff and confidently seek reassurance, comfort and support when needed. They generally cooperate well during routines, such as snack and lunchtime, and are developing increasing independence in managing their belongings, including lunch bags and drink bottles. Children attend regularly, arrive happily at the setting and settle quickly into familiar routines. Leaders and staff recognise the importance of promoting good attendance and have effective systems in place to monitor attendance and follow up absences appropriately.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Children's welfare is supported through warm and responsive relationships. Leaders and staff provide effective care as they have a comprehensive knowledge of the children in their care. Secure attachments are formed and staff have built trusting relationships with the children. Children demonstrate a sense of security. They arrive confidently and quickly settle and engage themselves in a chosen activity. Children enjoy their time outdoors and being physically active. They build up their confidence as they ride around the garden on the ride-on toys and enjoy exploring different coloured water and ice, experimenting with different ways to make it melt and watching the colours mix together.

Children show growing independence in managing their own care, such as finding their own sun hats and helping themselves to the water dispenser to make themselves a drink of water. Staff promote healthy lifestyles through daily routines. Children benefit from nutritious snack times, regular opportunities for outdoor play and appropriate activities, such as play trays set up to promote oral health. Staff monitor and support children's welfare and wellbeing effectively. For instance, during an extreme heat wave, staff effectively provide children with cooler spaces, promote good hydration, rest and safety precautions, such as sun cream and sun hats.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate an understanding of the setting's strengths and priorities for improvement. They identify priorities for improvement and put in place action plans to inform change. For instance, a newly embedded curriculum approach means that children show deeper levels of engagement in their play and exploration as they make choices in their play according to their own interests.

Staff report that they feel well supported and that their workload is manageable. Leaders place a high priority on staff wellbeing and create a culture, where staff feel valued and listened to. Regular supervisions and ongoing feedback help staff to reflect on and enhance their practice. Staff access training that strengthens their professional knowledge. For example, recent training to support children's communication and language development has enabled staff to identify emerging needs more confidently and lead on effective interventions to support children's learning in this area.

Leaders work closely with parents and the wider community. They build trusting relationships with families and support them to understand the importance of regular attendance. Parents say the nursery has supported them well and helped their children to grow and make progress. Information regarding strategies to support children's behaviour and learning is not shared with parents in a sufficiently consistent or detailed way. This limits opportunities for parents to reinforce and extend learning at home, meaning that some children do not benefit from a fully joined-up approach between home and the setting.