Stomping Grounds Forest Kindergarten at Gibside

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff identify children's individual needs swiftly. Strategies, such as home visits, help leaders to identify where support may be needed. They monitor children's achievements and take effective action to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face barriers to their learning. Leaders ensure that staff receive a range of training to help them understand and plan for children's needs. Staff work exceptionally well with other settings that children attend and use consistent strategies to ensure children make impressive progress. They make effective adaptations to ensure children with SEND settle and benefit from the routines on offer. These include providing additional staff so that children benefit from individualised support when necessary. Staff use sign language and physical objects to help children to communicate and anticipate changes to routines.

Staff work with parents to plan effective strategies to ensure children settle quickly and benefit from the routines on offer. Staff support children who are known or previously known to children's care successfully. They develop professional caring relationships with families and provide them with support as necessary. Children who are disadvantaged are well supported and additional funding is used thoughtfully to ensure children benefit from the kindergarten. For example, they provide additional hours at the kindergarten to support children and families.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders have designed a stimulating and challenging curriculum that meets the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff support children's communication and language exceptionally well. All staff place a high focus on using songs and books to develop children's language. This helps children to expand their language and also learn abouts patterns and rhythms to support their developing literacy skills. Staff ensure that all interactions with children are of a high quality. They listen, repeat and expand on what children are saying. They comment on what children are doing and use statements effectively to encourage children to explain their thoughts and ideas. For example, staff comment on how fast the cars roll down the gutter, when they place them at the top. They point out that they don't roll as fast or as far when they put them down further. This encourages children to explore the different speeds and explain their thinking.

Staff seize opportunities to extend and develop children's play. For example, when children start banging on metal pots, staff extend this, introducing work on rhythm, speed and volume. They introduce singing as they play, eventually marching as they sing 'The Grand Old Duke of York'.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make impressive progress in their communication and language. Children who face barriers to their learning make superb progress. They use language confidently to communicate with others following targeted interventions to develop their language skills. Children who are in the earlier stages of language development benefit from a rich language environment where they hear a range of words, such 'squeeze' and 'bubbles' to help expand their vocabulary.

Children develop excellent physical skills. They climb trees safely and look forward to visiting the 'swinging tree'. Older children navigate a slack line with success. Children acquire a love of books and language. They are keen to look at books throughout the session. Many settle down to look at books with staff. Children understand about language structures as they talk about rhythm and rhyme and learn about the syllables in words.

Children count confidently with numbers in order. Older children recognise quantities of numbers without counting. They manipulate numbers confidently, explaining the different ways that they can make 5.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff have clear routines and boundaries which they consistently remind children of. Children behave well and have a clear understanding of the expectations. For example, older children remind children that they must not climb a tree if there is no adult present. They then summon staff to assist children. When staff signal to children to stop with the call of 'coowit', children stop immediately and listen carefully.

Staff are always available to help children to learn how to share and take turns with toys and equipment. When children become frustrated when others are using toys they want, staff sensitively intervene to reinforce that it is someone else's turn first. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to share toys with others. They use simple language and are on hand to provide reassurance as they learn this concept. Staff take time to recognise how children are feeling. They put words to children's emotions and provide caring reassurance to help children to manage their emotions.

Children engage well on activities they choose. For example, younger children thoroughly enjoy making music by banging spoons on pans. They listen intently as staff or their friends hold the spoons up and say 'stop'. Children concentrate well and return to the activity later in the session.

Leaders work with parents to ensure children attend and benefit from the routines of the kindergarten. They support children who face barriers to their learning effectively to attend regularly.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders deploy staff thoughtfully to ensure that all staff can meet children's individual needs, including children who face barriers to their wellbeing. Leaders and staff are incredibly caring and attentive to children's needs. They use their knowledge of children carefully to identify when children need additional support to settle and benefit from the routines on offer. For example, staff provide individualised support to children with barriers to their learning who take longer to settle. They respond swiftly when children show signs of tiredness and give them time to relax in the hammock. When children settle, staff give them the opportunity to explore the environment independently.

Staff typically help children to understand how they can manage their own health and hygiene. Children manage their personal hygiene with increasing independence. Staff remind children to wash their hands after using the toilet or before eating. They talk to children about foods that are good for them as children enjoy a healthy snack. However, on some occasions staff do not consistently implement key policies and procedures. For example, staff do not always remind parents and children of key messages regarding healthy eating. Consequently, not all children make consistently healthy choices about the food they eat.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders have an accurate view of the kindergarten's strengths and areas for development. They liaise with those responsible for governance to ensure they fully support children and families. An example of this is changes to attendance patterns to ensure that all children receive their full funded entitlement. There have been significant staff absences in the nursery. Leaders realise that due to this, staff do not consistently implement all policies and procedures. For example, they do not reinforce key messages regarding healthy eating at lunch time. Leaders have recently taken action to address this. However, it is not yet sufficiently embedded.

Staff comment that leaders support their workload. They comment that they love their job and benefit from a wealth of training, including specific training on forest school initiatives. Professional development is precise and leaders target this effectively to help staff develop their knowledge and skills further. Recent training on communication and mathematics have led to a review of how they support children's learning in these areas. Staff now consistently plan ways to encourage mathematics and this has impacted positively on children's mathematical skills.

Staff work effectively with parents. They share detailed information about where children are in their learning and how parents can support them at home. Staff also communicate well with other professionals who are involved in children's education and care. They talk regularly with staff from local schools and nurseries to develop consistent approaches to supporting children's learning.