Sponge Tree Nature Kindergarten

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children bound up the woodland steps on arrival and are greeted warmly by cheery staff. The outdoor-based curriculum supports children's learning well, overall. It is underpinned by staff's high expectations and good knowledge of typical child development. Children happily join in enjoyable experiences that help them to develop new skills and knowledge across all areas of learning.

Children relish the freedom of the outdoors. They explore and investigate during play, showing that they feel secure and at ease. They work together and develop excellent problem-solving skills. For example, they work out how best to arrange plastic tubes to get marbles to a particular place. They discover that they can make a see-saw from logs and planks. Children use factual books to identify the creatures they find in the forest, looking at them closely through a magnifying glass. They develop balance, coordination and confidence when they climb trees and swing from ropes. Children have vivid imaginations. They pretend to escape from the 'chocolate lava' that flows down 'hedgehog hill'.

Staff are sensitive to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's well-being. They provide activities, such as 'laughing yoga', intended to promote children's good mental health.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Children develop a range of skills that help to prepare them for later learning. They make marks in a variety of ways, such as with sticks and mud, which supports their early writing skills. They count leaves and bugs and compare length and height while building with items they find in the forest.
• Staff plan group activities, such as stories and 'news time', to help children to develop good listening and attention skills. Children listen intently to one another when they share stories from home. They recap their learning when they tell their friends about their activities over the morning.
• There is a wide range of planned activities and plenty of opportunities for free play that support children's overall learning very well. However, at times, plans for individual children's learning are not precisely focused on what they most need to learn next.
• Children learn to value what makes them unique and to understand and respect the similarities and differences between themselves and others. Staff encourage them to talk about their family's traditions and celebrations that are important to them. Children talk to their friends about how they exchange gifts at different times of year.
• Parents talk about how children develop a 'lifelong love of nature' and how they value the nurturing care that staff provide. They feel involved in their children's pre-school education and know what they are learning about. However, staff do not consistently share information with other professionals who are also involved in children's learning and development.
• Staff observe and evaluate the ways children use play spaces. They make frequent changes that help to support children's interests and maximise learning opportunities. For example, staff installed a canopy and added holes to help children to observe the ways that water moves and gathers in the rain.
• Professional development helps to enhance staff's teaching. For example, independent research and training have helped to ensure that they are able to support all aspects of children's learning in the outdoor environment.
• Children behave well. Staff empower them to have the confidence to share their feelings and resolve their own conflicts. Children develop friendships. They greet their friends on arrival and invite them to join their activities, explaining the game they are playing.
• Staff promote healthy living. Children help to grow, prepare and cook their own vegetables and talk about the importance of good nutrition. They know they must drink plenty of water and wear a hat when the weather is hot.
• Children develop a remarkable awareness of how to keep themselves safe. They remind one another of the stringent rules, such as not going beyond the play area boundaries. Staff support them to take managed risks and to identify when they need to be careful, for example when running on uneven surfaces.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• refine planning to focus even more precisely on what individual children need to learn next
• strengthen partnerships with other professionals to help to provide a more consistent approach to supporting children's care, learning and development.