Toucan Education Ltd

Inclusion: Strong standard

Staff know the children incredibly well. They work closely with parents and other professionals, such as schools, who are involved with the attending children to understand children's individual needs. They find out about any barriers that children may face to their learning and plan adaptations to the daily routine to support these children. For example, staff create bespoke visual timetables to help children to have the confidence to leave their parents and move into the setting with ease.

Leaders and staff have a superb relationship with professionals from education, health and children's social care. They attend a range of meetings to ensure that they can meet all children's needs, including those children who are known or have previously been known to children's social care or those who are disadvantaged.

Leaders monitor children's progress carefully using bespoke monitoring techniques. This helps them to gather robust information to share with schools or other professionals, should children need to access further support. They ensure staff are well trained in how to support the complex needs of children.

Leaders have a transformational impact on the lives of many children. For example, they provide high levels of individualised support to help children to recognise their own needs. Some children benefit from meditation and yoga to help them to access different aspects of the curriculum. Many children recognise the benefits of these techniques themselves through time. This highly individualised support often helps children to reintegrate back into mainstream school.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders design a bespoke curriculum that meets children's individual needs and stages of development. There is a specific focus on physical development, communication and language and their personal. social and emotional development. Staff use children's fascinations extremely well to help children access the curriculum and overcome the many barriers to their learning. Staff notice what children are playing and skilfully extend their play further. For instance, when children make 'knight's soup', staff work alongside them to discuss the ingredients of the soup. Children are buzzing with excitement and enjoyment as staff pretend to put various body parts into the soup.

Staff support children's communication consistently well. They use every opportunity to model correct language. For example, when children say 'me want', they sensitively model the correct phrasing 'I want'. Staff ensure every interaction is of a high quality and use it to extend language further. During the inspection, children are fascinated in plastic bees and pretend to sting other children. Staff consistently say 'Oh no, it stung …'. The use of this repetitive phrasing helps all children to repeat the phrasing.

Staff plan a wealth of activities to support children's individual targets in physical development. Children access a bespoke movement room and some children enjoy time in the ball pool, to develop their core strength.

Achievement: Strong standard

All children at the setting are diagnosed with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They make superb progress and develop skills to support them in the next stage of their learning. Children concentrate well and are progressing towards the targets that staff have set for them. For example, children work alongside other children trying to match pairs in a card game for approximately 5 minutes. With adult support, they watch the game and identify where the matching cards are.

Children develop their communication skills as they copy key phrases and communicate with staff outside. Children start to talk about how they are feeling and begin to join in with songs and rhymes. They develop positive attitudes to their learning. They enter the classroom with enthusiasm and choose resources to play with. Children develop their physical skills as they run and jump and enjoy activities, such as crawling in the movement room.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders work with parents to help them to understand any barriers to children attending. They put plans in place to ensure that children can benefit fully from the sessions available to them. This includes working with children in the home to help them to overcome barriers that may exist.

Children develop highly-positive relationships with staff. They thoroughly enjoy playing with staff as they explore the jungle animals or enjoy imaginative play outside. Staff support children to develop relationships with each other. Staff are superb role models to children and understand children's specific needs. Children learn to interact with both children and staff. They are polite and well mannered. Children benefit from consistent routines. For example, children enjoy a short carpet session followed by a group activity. Staff support children throughout to help them to work alongside other children. They help children to navigate the challenges of waiting for their turn or to understand that they cannot win every game they play.

Leaders ensure they have a detailed understanding of children's behavioural needs. Staff are highly attuned at recognising when children need time to regulate their emotions. Staff have consistent expectations, which they sensitively reinforce, as necessary. This helps to ensure a focused and calm learning environment.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Staff know children exceptionally well and go out of their way to plan for children's interests. They find out incredibly detailed information from parents to help them to plan for children's individual needs and any barriers they may face to their wellbeing. For example, they know about any barriers children face at meal and snack times and plan adjustments for these. Staff are on hand to provide support when the need arises, such as providing space away from the table if food smells become overwhelming or making a sandwich to support children's emotional regulation.

Staff share detailed information with parents about healthy diets, as well as the most recent government guidance regarding food safety. Children enjoy a healthy packed lunch and daily fresh air and exercise as they play in the garden. Children learn how good hygiene supports their health.

Staff are highly skilled at recognising when children need additional support. They recognise when children may need reassurance, for example during group sessions. They allow children to set up any toys that they may use to provide comfort during the session. For example, some children bring jungle animals to the carpet and group activities and staff help children to set up the scene before they start. This helps children to participate fully. Staff encourage children to talk about their emotions and how they are feeling.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders have identified clear priorities for development. Staff's professional development is closely matched to the setting's improvement priorities, as well as those identified by staff. Training is highly focused on supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Following recent training from clinical psychologists on parenting and communication, leaders have developed a consistent way of communicating with children. This consistent communication has helped to ensure secure attachments between staff and children. Staff are currently attending training to help them support children affected by trauma. Staff comment that leaders support their wellbeing exceptionally well.

Staff work incredibly well with a range of professionals involved with the care and education of the children at the setting. For example, they work extremely closely with schools that children also attend. They share detailed information to plan the most effective ways of supporting individual children's and families' needs. Before children start, they gather detailed information from parents and schools. Many schools also visit the setting before and after children start. Staff share targets with schools and work with them to adapt them as necessary. They work together to provide a joined-up approach to ensure children get the help and support they need from the relevant health professionals, to meet children's complex needs effectively.

Staff work effectively with parents to support children's needs. They share detailed information about where children are in their learning and development and the targets they are working towards. Staff support parents and carers by liaising with professionals to get any available additional help for parents.