The Treehouse Club Forestry Nursery And Out Of School Club

Inclusion: Urgent improvement

Leaders and staff do not swiftly identify children who face barriers to learning, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They do not have sufficient oversight of the impact of the curriculum for all children. For example, adaptations and strategies have not been put into place to ensure all children make progress in their learning and development. Furthermore, leaders do not always ensure that staff deployment is arranged to meet the needs of all children. This means that, at times, the support for children with SEND and those that face other barriers to learning and/or wellbeing does not adequately meet their needs and impacts the other children's learning.

Leaders have not ensured that all staff know children well enough. For instance, not all staff are aware of which children receive targeted support, nor do they know how to support them. Consequently, staff do not consistently adapt their teaching or interactions to meet children's individual needs. For example, when children seek water play for regulation, they are told they need to go in the garden, but this is not communicated to other staff, and children are stopped from completing this, which impacts on their behaviour. This limits the support children receive and undermines leaders' inclusive intentions. Leaders have only just begun the processes of implementing strategies and targeted plans to support children, but the impact of this is not yet seen.

Leaders understand how to use additional funding to support disadvantaged children. For example, they would use funds to purchase resources to provide tailored support for children.

Curriculum and teaching: Urgent improvement

Although leaders' intentions for the curriculum are clear and appropriate, not all children receive the same opportunities as their peers to access a broad and ambitious curriculum. This leads to children's experiences being variable. Staff do not consistently adapt activities to promote the learning and development of all children. For example, snack time takes precedence over some children's needs, and as a result, some children wonder aimlessly, and this impacts on their behaviour. This does not promote children's emotional wellbeing.

Staff do not have adequate knowledge of the setting's curriculum. Due to staffing changes, some staff who work directly with children do not have secure knowledge of children's next steps and how to support them at activities. This includes children with barriers to their learning and those who need to be challenged further. Teaching is not always well planned or appropriately matched to children's stages of development, which impacts on the progress they make. For example, staff talk of generic next steps for all children when setting up activities rather than building on what children individually already know and can do. Children learn about the world around them in their weekly planned outside sessions. Children flourish in these sessions, and the staff leading them prioritise children's interests and use them to build on what children already know and can do. Forest school sessions are inclusive for those children with barriers to their learning.

Achievement: Urgent improvement

Not all children are prepared for their next stage of learning, because staff do not have the skills to consistently implement the curriculum well. Children do not develop their listening skills and are not always able to follow instructions. As a result, they are unable to move between activities independently and do not always understand what is expected of them. This is mainly due to the poor implementation of routines and boundaries. Children do not build on the skills and knowledge they already have, as there are some staff who do not know children well enough to support them effectively. Therefore, teaching is not always tailored effectively to children's stages of development. Leaders do not make appropriate decisions around staff deployment to meet the emotional needs of all children. For example, children who are struggling to settle are not put in the same group as familiar staff. This negatively impacts on their wellbeing.

Children do not consistently make the best possible progress across all areas of learning and development. Some children move quickly between activities and do not sustain engagement for extended periods. Children do not consistently receive enough challenge to deepen their thinking, language and problem-solving skills, and this impacts on their motivation to remain at activities and succeed. Children with barriers to their learning do not have the right targets and strategies in place to begin to bridge the gaps with their peers. Strategies are not implemented to support children with barriers to their learning, and as a result, they are not always able to access all the activities and spend more time flitting between them.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Urgent improvement

Leaders do not consistently establish and embed clear expectations for behaviour and routines across the setting. Children frequently move quickly between activities indoors and lose interest in the activities that are available to them. Expectations are not consistently understood or followed by children. Staff do not consistently reinforce expectations and support children's positive behaviour. Approaches to supporting routines and transitions are not applied consistently across the setting. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not have strategies in place to support them with transitions or develop an understanding of the setting's routines and expectations.

The provider has a positive key-person approach, and children have a secure relationship with their key person. However, this is not embedded across the setting, and leaders do not deploy staff adequately to ensure children get time with their key person. As a result, their needs are not always met. For example, children with barriers to their learning are unable to focus at activities or fulfil their potential, as staff at the setting do not have the knowledge to meet their development needs.

In the weekly forest school sessions, staff embed rules and take time to ensure children know and understand the risks in the area. Children do not demonstrate unwanted behaviour in the outside space, as staff allow them time and freedom to explore. Staff give children consistent praise and encouragement, which builds confidence and self-esteem. Children have a positive attitude to learning while outside, and they engage in activities with staff well. Attendance is monitored, and the setting works with parents to ensure they understand the importance of attending the setting regularly.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Urgent improvement

Children's welfare and wellbeing are not consistently met by the staff team at the setting. Leaders do not make the right decisions to support children's emotional wellbeing, including leaving unsettled children with unfamiliar adults. Staff do not use consistent approaches to support children's understanding of what is expected of them. As a result, children are not always guided to make the right choices, which impacts on their behaviour.

Transitions between different parts of the setting day are chaotic, as staff do not have knowledge of how to support children with barriers to their learning. As a result, they spend time managing behaviour. Although staff prompt children to wash their hands, they do not always help children to understand the purpose, such as reducing the spread of germs. Staff do not make effective use of mealtimes to support children's understanding of healthy eating or why nutritious food choices are important. As a result, opportunities to promote children's understanding of healthy lifestyles through daily routines are not fully developed. Ineffective staff deployment means that children have opportunities to walk around the setting with food in their mouths, and this is not recognised by staff. This increases children's risk of choking.

Children are generally happy at the setting. When all staff are available, children settle quickly into their day. Relationships between children and their key person are secure, and when they can spend time together, their strong bonds are evident. Children are beginning to build relationships with their peers and enjoy accessing new experiences together in the forest school.

Leadership and governance: Urgent improvement

The provider is not open to conversations regarding the setting's challenges, and this raises concerns about the provider's integrity and openness.

The provider does not demonstrate a clear knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and they do not have sufficient oversight across the setting. There are breaches of statutory safeguarding and welfare requirements, and these have a negative impact on all children. The provider has recognised some concerns but has not taken action quick enough to minimise the impact of staffing changes on children.

The provider's decision-making does not always prioritise children's needs or wellbeing, especially for unsettled children and those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or who face other barriers to learning. For example, they do not identify the impact of their decisions in how they organise staffing. The provider has not ensured that all staff consistently identify or respond to children's needs, such as when children become upset or disengaged in their learning.

The provider has not taken time to ensure staff who work at the setting, both full time and as additional support, understand their roles in providing high-quality teaching experiences for all. Staff are not aware of how to support children with managing their behaviour. This impacts on the progress children make during their time at the setting.