Runnymede Pre-School

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff promote a welcoming and inclusive culture where every child is valued and supported to succeed. Children's needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are identified quickly through careful observation, ongoing assessment and clear communication with parents and external professionals. Leaders consistently ensure that individual needs are clearly understood by all staff through effective systems, including daily staff meetings and clear information displays that outline children's outcomes and suggested strategies. This enables all staff to provide consistent support.

Leaders take decisive action to reduce barriers to learning. Targeted interventions, such as musical communication and small-group support, help children to develop communication and social skills. Additional funding is used effectively to provide tailored resources and specialist activities, such as music sessions and small-world objects, that reflect children's interests, to support engagement and inclusion.

Leaders closely monitor children's progress and regularly review the impact of support through termly meetings with parents, key persons and specialist staff. Leaders ensure that children known to social care are carefully supported through close monitoring, detailed record-keeping and robust safeguarding practice.

Staff benefit from relevant training that reflects the current children's needs. Leaders prioritise professional development opportunities that enable staff to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to confidently meet the unique needs of all children.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Children gain knowledge and skills through a curriculum that is shaped by leaders' clear understanding of children's starting points. Leaders prioritise personal, social and emotional development, ensuring children feel secure, confident and ready to learn. Staff support children to develop independence and self-regulation through consistent routines, positive behaviour management and small-group experiences that help children to sustain attention and follow instructions.

Teaching supports children's communication and vocabulary development, particularly for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff use small-group interventions to help children build confidence in speaking and listening. Mathematical language is introduced naturally through everyday routines, such as counting objects, discussing quantity and using language such as 'full' and 'empty' during play. These approaches help children to develop early mathematical understanding in meaningful contexts.

Staff assess what children know and can do through ongoing observation and adapt activities to meet individual needs. Children with SEND benefit from targeted support and well-chosen resources that reduce barriers to learning and enable them to engage alongside their peers. However, staff do not consistently encourage children to express themselves and talk about their own thoughts and ideas or suggest new vocabulary during activities. At times, inconsistencies in teaching affect how staff deepen learning, introduce complex language and extend children's curiosity.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children make progress from their individual starting points. Leaders design the curriculum to prioritise secure relationships and inclusion. This helps children quickly develop the confidence needed to engage in learning and make sustained progress.

Children benefit from targeted small-group interventions, and music is used to help them find their voices and learn social skills. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with barriers to their learning and development benefit from this focused support and the effective use of additional funding to enable them to achieve.

Children learn to follow routines, work well with others and build physical skills that support their wellbeing and prepare them for the future. They are independent and competently put on their coats and manage to use the toilet by themselves. Leaders work closely with schools to support smooth transitions, ensuring that children are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders have established a positive, calm and inclusive environment where expectations for children's behaviour are clearly understood and consistently applied by all staff. Leaders promote regular attendance through close monitoring and open communication with parents. They follow up on any absences sensitively.

Staff act as positive role models and use warm, respectful interactions that help children feel safe and valued. Key persons tailor their support to meet children's individual needs, particularly for those who require additional emotional reassurance. Children behave well, follow routines and respond positively to guidance that is sensitive to their age and stage of development. For example, staff use effective behaviour management strategies, such as playful counting, to support children to follow instructions when necessary. These positive strategies enable children to develop valuable skills for their future. Staff actively support children to play cooperatively and form strong, positive friendships, which builds their confidence and strengthens their social development.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Staff establish positive and secure attachments with their key children, enabling children to build trusting relationships with familiar adults who understand their individual needs and routines. This is particularly effective for children who require additional emotional reassurance or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff use sensitive interactions, small-group activities and stories to help children talk about feelings and emotions. Familiar routines, comfort items and calm transitions from one room to another help children feel settled and secure, supporting their emotional wellbeing.

Staff promote children's understanding of safety and good health effectively. Children learn about healthy choices through daily routines, such as snack time. Staff consistently reinforce safety through clear expectations and close supervision, helping children understand rules and boundaries in age-appropriate ways and develop a growing awareness of how to keep themselves safe.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear and accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for improvement. They regularly evaluate practice through observation and reflection, enabling them to identify where provision is effective and where it can improve. For example, leaders are currently prioritising how to use the outdoor space to maximise its potential. They recently purchased a gazebo so children can play outside comfortably in all weathers. A high proportion of parents and children respond to regular questionnaires that help leaders evaluate and improve the provision.

Leaders make decisions that are in the best interests of children, particularly those who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Additional funding is used thoughtfully to reduce barriers to learning, provide targeted resources and fund specialist activities that reflect children's interests and needs. Leaders work closely with parents, schools and external professionals to ensure timely support and smooth transitions.

Staff wellbeing and workload are carefully considered. Leaders have introduced daily 'huddles', hold termly supervisions and regular check-ins to support communication, manage workload and promote a positive staff culture.

Leaders plan effective professional learning opportunities that help staff to feel confident and well equipped to meet the needs of all children. However, support from leaders to help staff improve the quality of their interactions with children so they make even better progress is not yet fully effective across the provision.