Teddy Bear Day Care

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders are committed to creating a culture of inclusion that supports every child, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), those known or previously known to children's social care or those with other barriers to their learning or wellbeing. Leaders and staff identify children's needs from the moment they join the setting. Staff gather detailed information from parents and use this alongside assessments to build a clear understanding of each child's unique needs. This enables them to identify when children may need additional support and respond swiftly. Children with SEND benefit from tailored individual support plans and carefully considered strategies, including visual prompts to support understanding and communication.

Staff adapt their interactions to meet children's individual needs. They are calm, patient and understanding, giving children the time and space they need to respond, helping them to feel secure and participate fully. Leaders and staff work closely alongside external professionals, including specialist teachers and speech and language therapists to provide coordinated support.

Leaders use additional funding purposefully, providing additional staffing and resources such as books to strengthen communication and language and sensory equipment to support emotional regulation. Children who speak English as an additional language benefit from staff learning key words in their home language, building a culture of connection. Leaders and staff celebrate children's different cultures and backgrounds, helping children and families feel valued and included.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders provide a child-centred curriculum that focuses closely on children's interests and next steps. They ensure that learning opportunities build from children's earliest experiences in the baby room. Staff support children to develop confidence, independence and positive routines from an early age, helping to prepare them for their next stage of learning.

Staff model rich vocabulary and weave mathematical language naturally through activities. For example, children compare shapes and explore whether objects are bigger or smaller. They develop counting skills as they build towers and join in with familiar rhymes and songs. Children develop an enjoyment of reading books through sharing stories with staff and their friends. Targeted activities are sent home to encourage families to continue learning at home and promote a love of reading.

Children develop a deeper appreciation of the natural world through meaningful experiences. The garden allotment provides opportunities to grow and care for fruit and vegetables. Children use what they grow in their play and enjoy it at snack time, helping them understand where food comes from. Staff have built strong links with the local community and provide children with a range of exciting learning opportunities. Visits to the local library, football club and harbour broaden children's understanding of the world, while visits from dentists help children understand the importance of good oral health.

Achievement: Strong standard

All children, including those who face barriers to their learning, make secure and sustained progress from their starting points. Babies build trusting relationships with adults and other children and demonstrate kindness and respect from an early age. For example, young children take turns when sharing ride-on toys in the garden. They develop their physical skills as they confidently explore the indoor and outdoor environment, strengthening their coordination and developing increasing control of their movements.

Children are curious and confident learners. They show imagination as they roll dough to make pancakes and flip them in frying pans. Children discuss how they can make them 'bigger' or 'smaller', 'flatter' and 'rounder', demonstrating mathematical vocabulary to describe their ideas. Children develop their physical skills as they enthusiastically run, jump and balance. They sustain their concentration and persevere when trying new challenges.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive well-targeted support. They use sensory equipment to regulate their emotions and visual supports to communicate, helping them to access learning and express their views. Children develop the knowledge, skills and confidence for their next steps. They are increasingly independent and use their skills across different areas of learning and in everyday experiences.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and staff create a harmonious and respectful environment where children feel valued and secure. Staff are positive role models and consistently model kindness, courtesy and respect. They use warm interactions and positive praise to encourage children to join activities and develop enthusiastic, positive attitudes to learning.

Children behave beautifully and play alongside each other with confidence and consideration. They show kindness and care for others as they share resources, take turns and solve problems together during games, puzzles and construction activities. Staff teach children how to manage their behaviour and relationships, helping them to understand how their actions impact others. Children respond well to these approaches and increasingly manage routines and their own behaviour. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or barriers to learning receive tailored support to help them take part in activities and play alongside their peers. This enables them to access the learning opportunities on offer.

Leaders understand the importance of regular attendance and punctuality. They set clear expectations for parents and carers and work flexibly with families to offer support if needed when barriers arise. This helps children benefit from the setting's range of learning opportunities and familiar routines.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders ensure that routines are well established and responsive to children's individual needs. Staff treat children with dignity and respect throughout the day. They explain what they are doing and ask children's permission before carrying out care routines, helping children to feel respected and involved in their own care. Children benefit from familiar routines that help them feel secure and supported. They develop independence by serving their own snacks with tongs, helping to prepare the table for mealtimes and learning to blow their noses and wash their hands.

Children form warm and trusting relationships with staff. Key persons know children very well and provide a secure base, particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, helping them feel safe and emotionally secure. Children greet staff with warm smiles and hugs, showing that they feel happy and confident in their care. Leaders work closely with parents from the start to understand children's individual needs. They ensure that feeding routines, allergies and dietary requirements are carefully managed and that babies are supported through the stages of weaning. Staff carefully monitor sleeping babies and respond sensitively to their needs, using gentle music to help them settle.

Leaders recognise that transitions can affect children's emotional wellbeing. They provide nurturing support for children who are new to the setting, including using familiar toys from home. This helps children to develop secure attachments, settle confidently and feel a deep sense of belonging.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders have a clear vision for the setting and maintain high expectations for children's experiences and outcomes. They know children, families and staff very well and use this knowledge to make informed, considered decisions. Leaders rigorously monitor practice through regular supervisions, staff meetings and observations, using information from families to respond promptly to children's ever-changing needs and adapt support where needed.

Leaders invest in staff development and ensure that training is relevant and purposeful, with professional learning matched to the needs of the setting and staff's individual learning needs. They share updates through staff meetings, ensuring staff are kept up to date with the latest guidance and policy. Staff report that they feel very well supported and are encouraged to communicate openly and honestly.

Leaders work closely in partnership with parents and other professionals to secure positive outcomes for children. They maintain regular communication with families and work with schools, the local authority and other agencies to support children's needs and transitions. They swiftly and flexibly adapt arrangements when families experience challenges and need additional support. Leaders' secure understanding of the setting enables them to identify priorities, respond effectively to emerging needs and continually motivate staff to further improve practice. As a result, children benefit from consistent high-quality education and care.

Leaders show that they are proactive in ensuring children's safety and wellbeing. Following a notification made to Ofsted regarding an incident involving medication, leaders acted promptly to reduce the risk of reoccurrence. They introduced new systems for staff to store medicines, reminded parents and staff of procedures and introduced checks of children's belongings.