Woodlands PDN

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children grow with confidence and progress in their learning as they transition through the setting. They are supported by kind, nurturing staff. Babies find comfort with their key person, snuggling in for reassurance when they become tired. Staff have built positive relationships with children and their families. These relationships form firm foundations for children's successful learning and development.

Younger children are eager to explain how they spend time caring for giant land snails. Outside, they find garden snails. Children compare the differences between the species, using words such as big and little.

In the setting's forest school, staff create an enchanted environment where pre-school children's imaginations flourish. They role play their favourite stories, demonstrating the familiarity they have with books. Children are challenged by staff to identify the trees around them by looking at their leaves. They use their descriptive language as they identify the similarities and differences between the leaves. Staff introduce the names of trees through the ambitious curriculum that they have developed. Children enthusiastically find and name a conifer tree, a silver birch and a laurel. Throughout their play, children show their awareness of the rules designed to keep them safe. For example, by stepping out of the campfire circle to the rear.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Staff use effective strategies to build children's self-esteem and confidence. They give children stickers to celebrate their accomplishments, clearly explaining what children have done well. Children wear these with pride and tell their friends and staff members about their achievements.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works closely with parents, key workers and other professionals to enable children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to make good progress in their learning. The manager has deployed the SENCo to target her work with the children who would benefit most, recognising the continuing impact of the pandemic and the age range of children most affected. The SENCo uses her experience and knowledge to act quickly and puts appropriate support in place.
• Staff understand the setting's literacy curriculum and successfully deliver this throughout the setting. They choose a set of core books and read these frequently with children during group times and on a one-to-one basis. This repetition helps children become familiar with key words and phrases in the text. Through this, children develop a fondness of special and meaningful stories.
• The management team has adapted their settling-in procedures since the pandemic. Managers have acted on parental feedback and recognise that new experiences and environments can cause anxiety for children and parents. Staff now offer more flexible and longer settling-in sessions. New parents report that their children have made a smooth transition into the setting.
• In the most part, children are securing the skills and knowledge that they need to confidently progress in their education and beyond. That said, there are gaps where children have less opportunity to develop some fine motor skills, specifically around using tools. For example, currently, children do not use scissors in the setting, and their involvement in serving their own meals has reduced over time.
• Staff are attentive to children's care needs. Children's health is promoted through good handwashing routines and healthy meal options. However, the richness of learning is not always strong during these routine activities. For example, staff do not consistently support children's communication and language growth through vibrant and informative conversation.
• Managers demonstrate a commitment to staff's continued professional development. They offer a variety of opportunities for staff to improve their knowledge and skills. For instance, staff complete work placements in the rooms of older and younger age groups. This helps them to build a sequenced curriculum as they can identify where children have come from in their learning and where they will progress to.
• Staff have recently completed training where they have considered more effective ways to support and shape children's behaviour. Children respond well to the positive behaviour management strategies that staff use. Babies are calmed when relaxing music is played. Older children learn to share with the help of a sand timer.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the curriculum so that children have adequate opportunity to learn, practise and use the fine motor skills they need for their further education and beyond, specifically around the use of tools
• focus performance management on staff's interactions with children during routine activities, such as mealtimes, so that children's communication and language development is continually being promoted.