Wildwood Explorers

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children thrive in this unique setting.

They arrive excited for the day ahead. Children start their day by sitting down with staff to recall their high expectations for their behaviour. They enthusiastically remember the rules and boundaries in place to keep them safe.

For example, children explain that when in woodland area they should not run because they may not see tree roots under leaves, which could cause them to fall and have an accident. Children spend a vast amount of their day outdoors. Staff provide them with a variety of challenging activities to keep them busy.

Children show delight as they work in te...ams to build their own dens using sheets of tarpaulin in the woodland area. They develop excellent communication skills as they share their ideas with their friends and members of staff. Children are kind and respectful towards each other.

When children encounter difficulty achieving their goal, they show perseverance and keep trying. Staff skilfully intervene when they need to by listening attentively to what children set out to do before helping them do this.Children develop increasingly high levels of independence.

They lead their own play and learning, and staff are always nearby to assist them. Children enjoy practising their mark-making skills. They take sheets of paper and different coloured crayons into the woodland area.

They show high levels of concentration as they explore rubbing their crayons on paper against trees and discuss the different patterns they make.

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

The manager is highly ambitious and is an experienced and inspirational leader. She is passionate about the experience she provides for children.

The manager uses self-evaluation extremely well to continually reflect on the quality of the setting. She is proactive in identifying any ways to improve the already exceptional standards she delivers.The setting's ethos gives children an interest in caring for the environment.

They participate in a themed week around being eco-friendly. Older children help to collect litter, and staff talk to them about how this will help their planet. When younger children unexpectedly find litter in the environment, they alert staff to this and help to clean it up.

Children help to build hotels for bugs and wildlife creatures to live in. This helps them to appreciate the world around them.Children's behaviour is impeccable.

They show a deep understanding of the rules in place. Children respect that they must not pass outside of the boundaries in the woodland area. They approach staff to check whether a stick they want to use is outside of the boundary.

Staff check and praise children for not leaving their designated area. Children's high levels of compliance ensure that they remain safe.The setting promotes an inclusive practice.

Managers obtain information from parents about children's individual needs so that they can make necessary adjustments. For children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, the manager liaises with parents to identify what support they may benefit from. This helps children to access the setting and be supported to reach their potential.

Children develop their physical skills as they take age-appropriate risks. They practise climbing trees at a low level as they tie rope around branches to build the frame for their den. Children talk about the different type of knots they can make.

They use mallets carefully to hammer pins into the ground to secure the sides to their dens. This helps children to understand how to stay safe.Staff receive high levels of support from the manager.

They attend a team meeting and individual meetings prior to every holiday period. The manager uses this time to ensure that staff understand their role and responsibilities. She reviews staff's individual training and professional development needs to identify how they can be supported to address these.

This helps staff to continually improve their personal effectiveness.Parents are highly complimentary about the quality of care their children receive. They appreciate the thorough and detailed feedback they receive about their child's day.

Parents say that their children look forward to attending the setting. Children also comment positively about their experiences and say they love going out to the local environment.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager supports staff to complete regular training to keep their knowledge of safeguarding issues up to date. Managers and staff are alert to signs that could indicate a child is at risk of abuse or harm. This includes signs that could suggest a child is being exposed to radical or extreme views or concerns that a girl could be at risk of abuse specific to females.

They know the procedures to follow to report any concerns to other professionals. The manager follows a rigorous recruitment procedure to assess the skills and suitability of staff working with children. Records of vetting checks completed for staff are maintained.