Burwood Forest School

Burwood Forest School

Unique reference number (URN): 2815009 Address: Tree House, Burhill Road, Hersham, Walton-on-Thames, KT12 4BJ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 16/10/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Burwood Preschool

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Staff build positive relationships with children. Children enter the setting with ease and chat confidently to staff and their friends. Children who have not attended the setting for long have very quickly embraced the routine and independently get themselves ready for their outdoor play, such as changing their shoes and putting on their overalls. This is a result of the warm and caring staff, who work hard to help children feel settled and secure. Children work collaboratively and happily share their toys. For instance, when they notice that their friends have fewer toy bears, they readily share theirs out to make it fair.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The woodland space instils a sense of calm. Staff mirror this calm approach and are very effective role models. They are consistent in their expectations and show kindness and respect. There are few instances of negative behaviour. Children manage conflicts and understand how their actions impact on others. Children's behaviour and attitudes to learning are incredibly positive.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders and staff closely monitor children's attendance. Their positive relationships with families help to ensure regular attendance, which enables children to benefit fully from the curriculum on offer.

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Children's welfare and well-being Strong standard

Staff support children very well to develop a love of being outdoors and benefit from the fresh air in all seasons. Children thoroughly enjoy splashing in muddy puddles and participating in messy play, such as mixing cornflour and shaving foam. Children fully engross themselves in exploring the mixtures they have made. They climb into the tray to use all their senses and become completely covered. Staff encourage children's independence in managing personal care and provide a healthy snack of fresh fruit, which children help to prepare in the shelter outside. Children learn the importance of washing their hands and safely use knives to cut up the fruit for their peers.

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Children's welfare and well-being Strong standard

Leaders and staff are kind and strive to help children to develop a healthy lifestyle. Children develop strong attachments with staff. They show high levels of emotional wellbeing and security. Staff teach children about being safe. They have recently updated risk assessments to help to ensure that all children are accounted for as they move around the

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Expected standard

site. There are lots of opportunities for challenging and risky play. This extends children's positive 'can-do' attitude and resilience. Children relish their time outdoors.

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Inclusion Strong standard

All children are made to feel welcome at this setting. Leaders and staff take time to get to know each child and their family. They work in collaboration with parents and carers to help identify any gaps in children's learning or children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) from the start. Staff have effective and ongoing training to support their roles and fully understand their responsibilities so that children with SEND remain a consistent priority. Staff recognise possible barriers children may face to their learning and put appropriate interventions in place. This includes making swift referrals and working with professionals and external agencies. Staff follow targets set by professionals to help ensure that children receive the right level of support and make good developmental progress. For instance, staff implement speech and language targets with support from the special

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Inclusion Strong standard

educational needs coordinator, and they have plans to introduce other early talk programmes to help raise the quality of the provision even further.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have high expectations and strive to give each child a positive start to their education. They work with staff to learn about each child's background, their cultures and any festivals they may celebrate. This helps children to feel valued. The management team and committee work together to consider how best to use any additional funding they receive to support children's needs. They demonstrate strong expertise and confidence in meeting the needs of all children, making this a clear strength of the setting.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make secure progress in their learning, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who may face barriers to their learning. Children who need support with their communication skills benefit from staff's work with external agencies. Leaders have positive plans to boost this further by introducing simple signing and seeking training on initiatives to further support children's speech and language. However, high standards of achievement are not yet sustained as staff do not always use the opportunities that arise to challenge children.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children are resilient and demonstrate secure levels of engagement in activities. This helps children to become ready for school. Children show a clear interest in the natural world. For example, they enjoy digging for worms and examine them closely under their magnifying glasses. Children learn how the worms can be used in their vegetable patches to help the plants grow.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff make good use of the woodland area to promote all aspects of children's learning. They have set out areas for plenty of exploratory, physical and creative play. Staff deploy themselves well, following children's interests. For example, some staff sit and read books to children, while others engage in water play or creating pictures of animals out of acorns. Staff's genuine enthusiasm excites children and encourages them to join in. For instance, as staff eagerly suggest a treasure hunt, children show curiosity and instinctively want to help on the search. They turn over logs and find minibeasts and know that the tiny eggs they have found belong to snails. Children's confidence and resilience are very evident as they are keen to explore everything that is on offer.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff continually monitor and assess children's development. They know the children well. Children who need additional help with their speech and language development receive support from staff. The teaching of mathematics is also generally woven in well. Staff encourage children to count, begin to make simple calculations and use mathematical language. Overall, staff's interactions with children are good, and typically, activities are well thought out. However, some activities are not always planned precisely and staff do not consistently make the most of opportunities to extend children's learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a secure knowledge of the families and children who attend. They develop positive relationships with parents and carers and work with them to make sure that any children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or barriers to their learning get the support they need. However, the general information provided to parents about how they can support their children's learning at home is inconsistent. Parents do not always receive precise information about how they can help their children to achieve their next steps in learning at home.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a clear vision for this setting. They know what they do well and what they would like to improve further. For example, they have good plans in place to develop the garden area for the children attending after school. The management team has also recently improved the procedures for transitioning children from outdoors to indoors to enhance how staff keep children safe.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff comment that they feel well supported and have opportunities to reflect on their practice. Leaders support staff's wellbeing and professional development effectively through coaching and regular training.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children thrive at this predominantly outdoor setting, which has a lovely harmonious feel to it. Leaders and staff have fostered an inclusive culture, where all children are supported and feel valued. Staff provide all children with all-weather outfits to wear. This means that every child, regardless of any barriers they face to their learning, has the same opportunity to play and explore with confidence and enjoy getting messy without consequence. Children benefit from plenty of fresh air and exercise where they have lots of space to run and play. They develop risk awareness and confidence as they climb trees, jump across tyres and navigate the natural landscape. Staff trust children to be capable and independent. This supports children's physical wellbeing and resilience in preparation for their next stage of learning.

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Inspector:

Nicky Hill Attendance at this setting is strong. Many parents and carers comment on how eager their children are to start their day. They report on how well staff tailor settling-in sessions to get to know their children and help them to feel welcome and valued. For example, staff will set out children's favourite toys ready for their arrival, so they have something familiar to look forward to. The outdoor environment has a positive impact on children's behaviour. They remain engaged in activities for long periods of time, and this results in a calm but busy and productive atmosphere. Staff provide an effective balance between child-led learning, based on children's interests, and structured experiences designed to develop specific skills. They successfully weave in all aspects of learning outdoors.

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Next steps

Leaders should support staff to develop their positive interactions with children so that they extend children's learning and build on what they already know and can do. Leaders should enhance the information that is shared with parents and carers so that they receive more precise details about their children's progress and next steps in learning and how they can support their children's learning at home.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff and the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) during the inspection.

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About this inspection

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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About this inspection

A quality assurance visit by an additional inspector was carried out at this inspection.

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Address:

Tree House Burhill Road, Hersham Walton-on-Thames KT12 4BJ

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:45 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standards expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standards set out in statutory and non-statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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