Twizzle Tops Marsh Farm

Inclusion: Strong standard

The setting ensures that all children are welcomed, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). All staff are very knowledgeable of the process for supporting children who have gaps in their learning. They work together to create plans and targets in a timely manner to build on what children already know and can do. This information is shared with parents and carers.

Staff regularly review assessments and set new and additional targets. This means children are always working on closing the gaps in their learning and development. Staff adapt activities to ensure that all children can complete them. The use of additional funding is rigorously monitored by leaders. Children are supported with additional adults and resources, which makes activities accessible for them.

Staff receive regular training on supporting children with SEND, and, where additional training is required, leaders ensure that this takes place. Parents and carers talk of the exceptional progress their children have made while at the setting, including those with SEND and those who have other barriers to their learning. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals. This ensures consistency for children in all areas of their development and lives. Staff communicate with parents about safety when out on the farm, ensuring consistent approaches, such as hand-holding, when walking outside of the setting buildings.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

A new curriculum is currently being embedded into the setting. This new curriculum supports children's learning and development using children's interests and staff's knowledge and ability to support children's learning. Leaders are regularly reflecting on staff's knowledge and the embedding of this, and understand that they are still in the initial stages of its implementation. Staff use their own skills and teaching to ensure that activities are accessible for all children. Leaders reflect on how children understand staff's expectations of them. Staff use the on-site farm to enhance children's learning.

Staff successfully support children's communication and language skills. They read stories to them and enjoy singing rhymes. Leaders reflect on song times. They repeat a small selection to provide children with familiarity. This enables children to join in and build their vocabulary. When investigating dough, children discuss the different shapes they can make, developing their mathematics skills further.

Younger children explore the farm, looking for muddy puddles to jump and develop their physical skills. Later, other children stretch and move in different ways while looking at the animals. Staff use an online platform to share information with parents and carers about their children's development. They provide parents with information on how they can support their children at home, which parents positively comment on.

Achievement: Expected standard

All children make secure progress in their learning and development while they are at the setting. They enjoy activities and remain at them for long periods of time. Children benefit from opportunities to build on what they already know and can do. Children's learning is consolidated regularly, repeating activities to ensure that their learning is embedded. For example, children's language skills are widened through the repetition of a selection of rhymes with children from a young age, which become familiar as they move through the setting. From a young age, communication and language development is prioritised by the setting, and this is evident as the children move through the setting. The eldest children have wide and secure language skills as a result.

Children who need additional support are supported accordingly, and, as a result, they make secure progress in their learning and development. Children are well prepared for the next stage of their learning through the work the setting does with teachers from feeder schools.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

A secure key-person approach is evident across the setting, and children have close relationships with them. Children demonstrate this as they actively seek out staff for comfort. Staff model their expectations for children's behaviour well. They join children at their level and establish a positive environment. Staff can be regularly heard praising children's achievements. They celebrate children's learning and build on their self-esteem. Staff are kind to each other, which children observe. As a result, children are kind to each other. Staff support children to get along with each other. They build from playing alongside each other to playing with each other and building friendships. Older children actively seek their friends out to play with.

Staff encourage children to join in games with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They explain why there may be differences, and children enjoy these times. Leaders work with parents and carers to encourage high attendance and support families where this may be more difficult. It is clear from children's behaviour that children's attendance levels are high, and this impacts on children's knowledge of the setting's routines. Staff work hard to establish routines for children, and all rooms repeat the same process, such as mealtimes. This provides familiarity for children.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Staff have secure relationships with all children in the setting. The setting prioritises children's personal and emotional development, taking time to get to know children when they first start. Staff talk to children all the time. At snack time, staff talk to children about healthy food choices. This develops children's understanding of healthy lifestyles. Leaders comment that they support parents to provide healthy lunch boxes for their children when they do not access the food from the setting. They provide parents with additional information and signpost them to external professionals who may be able to support with this. The setting has recently changed its food provider to meet changes to the guidelines.

Mealtimes are sociable times. Staff sit with children at each table and talk with them. Children enjoy talking about their morning so far. This makes mealtimes more fun and helps them to become learning opportunities. Children have daily access to the farm area and fresh air. Staff use these experiences to build on children's learning of the world around them. They talk to children about their emotions and encourage them to talk freely about how they are feeling. Staff enable children to have quiet time away from others when needed.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Following a notification from the provider, leaders have recently updated procedures for ensuring that children are always within sight and hearing, and staff deployment around the setting is effective. Leaders reflect that there has been significant improvement in staff's understanding of how to deploy themselves. Staff deployment also supports the new curriculum. Leaders recognise the setting's strengths and recognise priorities for improvement. They check practice through regular observations and discussions with staff and use this information to plan training and support. Leaders comment on the setting's journey to embed their new curriculum and the plan for this moving forward. Staff reflect on this and talk positively about the support they receive from leaders to enable them to begin to embed the changes.

Staff's wellbeing is a priority for the setting. Staff comment on the training opportunities that leaders make available to them. Apprentices are appreciative of the help they have received from leaders to manage their workload. This ensures that they are able to meet their professional development goals. Leaders recognise the importance of working with parents and carers. Parents comment on the high levels of communication they receive about their children. They praise the friendly and welcoming staff team.