The Little Firefly Forest School

Inspection of The Little Firefly Forest School Starveall Farm, Oxford Road, Stone, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP17 8PZ

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision is outstanding

Children arrive motivated and eager for a day of stimulating and exciting activities in the woodland. They are warmly welcomed by the enthusiastic and extremely nurturing staff. Children show they are exceptionally happy and secure. Their behaviour is exemplary and they know and understand the boundaries and rules in place to keep them safe. They show an excellent understanding of how they need to behave in the forest school environment. This excellent behaviour means that children can make the very most of the fascinating and enchanting learning environment.

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The provision is outstanding

Children enjoy listening to imaginative stories. Staff use superb expression to engage the children, building language skills with a range of new and familiar vocabulary. Children build on and develop excellent physical skills as they use their bodies to climb. They assess the risk as they climb and talk about how they are going to get to the top and down again safely. Children are consistently engaged in activities and demonstrate awe and wonder at the endless possibilities of discovery in the forest. For example, children excitedly gasp and point out the budding poppies growing between crops in the farmer's field.

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The provision is outstanding

Children benefit from extremely rich experiences that help them to learn about the world around them. For example, they learn about how farmers harvest their crops to gather food for the animals in the winter. They talk about the size and shape of the bales. They later explore the bales and enjoy using their bodies to measure how long and tall the bales are, learning about size and shapes in real and memorable ways.

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need to do better?

n All staff plan an extremely well-sequenced and broad curriculum. This is based on an accurate understanding of the needs of the children. Staff expertly and consistently extend children's learning. The key-person system is highly effective and staff share all children's next steps in learning. This provides a cohesive and consistent approach to delivering high-quality teaching. n The innovative staff engage children in meaningful tasks to teach them about healthy lifestyles. For example, they grow their own fruit and vegetables to cook and eat as part of their daily meals. n Children behave exceptionally well. They show a huge amount of respect for the others around them. They listen to each other's ideas and suggestions in their play. For example, when playing at the mud kitchen, children talk about the potions they are making and share ideas for things they can use to make them smell nice. n Children's use of language and communication is exceptional. Staff ask

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need to do better?

26 July 2022 extremely well-considered and thoughtful questions that really make children think. This develops children's critical-thinking skills as they process their thoughts and respond in clear and complex sentences. For example, children explain the life cycle of birds and bring in nests they have found in bushes at home. They talk about the type of bird that may have made the nest, that birds make nests to lay eggs and that they look after them until they hatch into baby birds. n Children enjoy regular visits from a therapy dog to the forest school. They enjoy talking about how they care for the dog. The therapy dog supports children's well-being incredibly well. They comment that they saw the therapy dog at the doctor's surgery when they were poorly, and that it made them feel better to see a friend at the surgery. n Staff build on children's interests and support their zest for learning extremely

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need to do better?

well. For example, children show a keen interest in the many things they can find on the woodland floor. They show these things to staff, talking about what type of leaf they have found and what tree it has come from. Children become totally engrossed in learning about the woodland and the plants and trees that grow there. n Children are resilient and confident as they explore the endless possibilities around them. They keep trying as they develop new skills and are extremely confident to try out their own ideas. These positive dispositions to learning help to prepare them extremely well for the next steps in their learning. n Staff feel valued and well supported in their continuous professional development. They have allocated time and resources to build and learn new skills based on personal interests. They use these skills to inform their practice and share new learning within the team. They discuss how their learning can

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need to do better?

impact on the quality of their teaching for the children. For example, staff learn about bushcraft and how they can use this to teach children more about the woodland around them.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The provider ensures robust and comprehensive risk assessments are effective in making sure the children are kept safe. Staff have a secure knowledge of safeguarding. They can comment confidently on the process to follow if they have a concern about a child and who to report concerns to. They are knowledgeable and skilled in recognising signs and indicators of abuse. The leadership team manager has effective procedures in place to monitor and manage the use of information technology equipment used on site.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2557622 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 10233468 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 13 Name of registered person Adams, Georgina

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reference number

Telephone number 07738 212008 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

The Little Firefly Forest School registered in 2019 and is situated near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. It is open from 8.30am to 4.30pm, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for 47 weeks of the year.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The inspector completed a learning walk with the provider. n The inspector gathered the views of parents and took these into consideration. n The inspector observed children at play. n The manager and inspector observed and evaluated staff practice. n The inspector held a leadership and management discussion with the manager and provider.

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Inspection activities

26 July 2022 We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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Inspection activities

26 July 2022 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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