Tiny Toez @ Treehouse

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders' effective assessment processes generally help them to identify children who are experiencing barriers to their learning and wellbeing at an early stage. They provide children with special educational needs and/or disabilities with targeted support that is typically tailored to their individual needs. Staff adapt routines, use visual communication strategies, implement targeted strategies from external professionals and provide sensory experiences that reflect children's individual needs. However, there are times when staff do not consistently embed children's' targets in their planning and teaching.

Leaders generally have a clear understanding of the community they serve. This includes the needs of children, their families and the barriers that may affect children's learning and wellbeing. This enables leaders to provide timely support that reflects children's individual circumstances. Leaders signpost families to relevant services within the local community, helping them to access the support they need to improve children's wellbeing and reduce barriers to learning. Leaders work effectively with parents, social workers and health professionals, including speech and language therapists and physiotherapists, to ensure children receive the support they need at the earliest opportunity.

Leaders use additional funding purposefully to reduce barriers to learning and wellbeing, including providing targeted one-to-one support where needed. They recently enhanced the outdoor environment after identifying that some children in receipt of funding would benefit from greater opportunities for adventurous play. Leaders regularly review how funding is used to ensure it reflects children's changing needs.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have designed a broad curriculum that typically reflects children's interests, developmental stages and individual needs. They regularly review and enhance the learning environment, ensuring experiences build progressively from the baby room through to pre-school. Staff use children's fascinations, such as bugs, dinosaurs and imaginative play to capture their interest and encourage them to explore, investigate and learn. Leaders have recently enhanced opportunities for outdoor learning, ensuring the curriculum continues to evolve in response to children's interests and needs.

Staff typically deliver the curriculum well. They place an emphasis on using books to support children's communication and language. Staff narrate children's play and model clear language with older children. They label objects and actions with younger children, helping children to develop their vocabulary and understanding. Staff recognise that babies learn through their senses. They carefully plan sensory experiences, such as sand and water play to encourage children to explore, investigate and make sense of the world around them. Staff weave mathematical concepts into children's experiences, such as exploring repeated patterns, counting and number rhymes.

Teaching generally reflects children's interests and next steps, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders ensure practitioners gather regular assessments to identify individual next steps for all children. However, staff do not consistently use children's identified targets to plan learning that builds precisely on all their next steps. At times, planning is more generic for the room and some daily routines, including planned group activities with older children, reduce opportunities for them to apply and extend their learning.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children typically make progress from their starting points and develop the knowledge and skills they need for the next stage in their learning. Babies become increasingly confident to explore their environment, communicate their needs and develop their physical skills. Toddlers develop their communication and language as they confidently join in with familiar songs, follow simple instructions and increasingly express their ideas. Older children develop early literacy and mathematical knowledge, alongside the confidence to talk about their feelings, solve problems and play cooperatively with others.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve well from their individual starting points because they receive support that generally reflects their needs.

Overall, children develop increasing independence in their self-care and play. For example, they wash their own hands, find their own name and picture and confidently make choices throughout the day. They show resilience as they take on physical challenges outdoors and learn how to manage their feelings, such as frustration.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Overall, leaders have established a successful approach to supporting children's behaviour across the nursery. Leaders have provided staff with training and coaching to help them use agreed strategies to support children's behaviour and emotional wellbeing. This provides children with familiar and predictable approaches that help them understand expectations, manage their feelings and feel secure.

Staff typically provide clear expectations for children's behaviour and offer sensitive support to help them understand what is expected of them. They help children learn to share, take turns, negotiate and understand their emotions. Leaders work closely with families to promote good attendance and where appropriate, adapt attendance arrangements to reduce barriers so children can benefit from the full curriculum.

Staff build warm and nurturing relationships with children, helping them to feel safe, secure and ready to learn. They recognise children's individual cues and adapt some routines to meet their emotional needs and provide an inclusive approach. For example, they provide opportunities for children who become overwhelmed by busy environments to spend time in quieter spaces within the nursery.

However, some planned group routines, particularly with older children are too lengthy. As a result, children spend too much time listening to adults rather than actively participating in learning, reducing opportunities to practise, apply and extend the knowledge and skills they have already developed.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing. They ensure staff understand children's individual care needs and provide regular training to help them implement safe and responsive care practices. Staff demonstrate a secure understanding of safe sleep, safe food practices and how to identify and reduce potential risks within the learning environment. Staff adapt care routines to meet children's individual welfare needs. They carefully manage allergies, dietary requirements and individual care plans. This includes adapting food and equipment where necessary so every child can participate safely in nursery life.

Staff know children well and adapt care routines to reflect their individual needs. They recognise babies' cues, provide warm and responsive care. Staff use one-to-one care routines, such as nappy changing, to promote children's communication and independence.

Leaders provide parents with practical information about oral health, healthy eating, screen time and local community support, enabling families to reinforce healthy lifestyles and children's well-being at home. However, leaders have not yet fully embedded children's understanding of making healthy food choices. Although children receive a nutritionally balanced diet overall, opportunities to consistently promote healthy eating messages are overlooked.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders typically demonstrate a clear vision for continually improving the nursery. Leaders understand the needs of the community they serve and adapt the provision to reflect this and support the families who attend. They accurately identify priorities for development and have enhanced areas, such as outdoor learning, behaviour support and the quality of staff interactions. They have established systems to monitor the quality of the provision. However, these are not yet fully effective in ensuring all staff consistently deliver the highest quality planning, teaching and learning experiences for all children.

Leaders place a priority on professional learning and staff wellbeing. They provide thorough inductions for new staff, regular training, coaching and professional feedback that helps staff develop their knowledge and confidence. Leaders have placed a particular focus on supporting apprentices and those with less experience, helping them develop their practice through ongoing guidance and mentoring. Leaders consider staff workload carefully and provide time to complete professional learning.

Leaders typically maintain positive partnerships with parents, external professionals and the wider community. This enables families to access support when needed and ensures children who face barriers to their learning benefit from coordinated care and timely intervention.