Stomping Grounds Forest Kindergarten at Gibside

Gibside

Unique reference number (URN): 2803388 Address: National Trust, Gibside, Burnopfield, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE16 6BG Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 30/08/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: Stomping Grounds North East CIO

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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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Achievement Strong standard

Children make impressive progress in their communication and language. Children who face barriers to their learning make superb progress. They use language confidently to communicate with others following targeted interventions to develop their language skills. Children who are in the earlier stages of language development benefit from a rich language environment where they hear a range of words, such 'squeeze' and 'bubbles' to help expand their vocabulary.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children develop excellent physical skills. They climb trees safely and look forward to visiting the 'swinging tree'. Older children navigate a slack line with success. Children acquire a love of books and language. They are keen to look at books throughout the session. Many settle down to look at books with staff. Children understand about language structures as they talk about rhythm and rhyme and learn about the syllables in words.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children count confidently with numbers in order. Older children recognise quantities of numbers without counting. They manipulate numbers confidently, explaining the different ways that they can make 5.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders and staff have clear routines and boundaries which they consistently remind children of. Children behave well and have a clear understanding of the expectations. For example, older children remind children that they must not climb a tree if there is no adult present. They then summon staff to assist children. When staff signal to children to stop with the call of 'coowit', children stop immediately and listen carefully.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Staff are always available to help children to learn how to share and take turns with toys and equipment. When children become frustrated when others are using toys they want, staff sensitively intervene to reinforce that it is someone else's turn first. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to share toys with others. They use simple language and are on hand to provide reassurance as they learn this concept. Staff take time to recognise how children are feeling. They put words to children's emotions and provide caring reassurance to help children to manage their emotions.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children engage well on activities they choose. For example, younger children thoroughly enjoy making music by banging spoons on pans. They listen intently as staff or their friends hold the spoons up and say 'stop'. Children concentrate well and return to the activity later in the session.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders work with parents to ensure children attend and benefit from the routines of the kindergarten. They support children who face barriers to their learning effectively to attend regularly.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders have designed a stimulating and challenging curriculum that meets the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff support children's communication and language exceptionally well. All staff place a high focus on using songs and books to develop children's language. This helps children to expand their language and also learn abouts patterns and rhythms to support their developing literacy skills. Staff ensure that all interactions with children are of a high quality. They listen, repeat and expand on what children are saying. They comment on what children are doing and use statements effectively to encourage children to explain their thoughts and ideas. For example, staff comment on how fast the cars roll down the gutter, when they place them at the top. They point out that they don't roll as fast or as far when they put them down further.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

This encourages children to explore the different speeds and explain their thinking.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Staff seize opportunities to extend and develop children's play. For example, when children start banging on metal pots, staff extend this, introducing work on rhythm, speed and volume. They introduce singing as they play, eventually marching as they sing 'The Grand Old Duke of York'.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff identify children's individual needs swiftly. Strategies, such as home visits, help leaders to identify where support may be needed. They monitor children's achievements and take effective action to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face barriers to their learning. Leaders ensure that staff receive a range of training to help them understand and plan for children's needs. Staff work exceptionally well with other settings that children attend and use consistent strategies to ensure children make impressive progress. They make effective adaptations to ensure children with SEND settle and benefit from the routines on offer. These include providing additional staff so that children benefit from individualised support when necessary. Staff use sign language and physical objects to help children to communicate and anticipate changes

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Expected standard

Staff work with parents to plan effective strategies to ensure children settle quickly and benefit from the routines on offer. Staff support children who are known or previously known to children's care successfully. They develop professional caring relationships with families and provide them with support as necessary. Children who are disadvantaged are well supported and additional funding is used thoughtfully to ensure children benefit from the kindergarten. For example, they provide additional hours at the kindergarten to support children and families.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have an accurate view of the kindergarten's strengths and areas for development. They liaise with those responsible for governance to ensure they fully support children and families. An example of this is changes to attendance patterns to ensure that all children receive their full funded entitlement. There have been significant staff absences in the nursery. Leaders realise that due to this, staff do not consistently implement all policies and procedures. For example, they do not reinforce key messages regarding healthy eating at lunch time. Leaders have recently taken action to address this. However, it is not yet sufficiently embedded.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Staff comment that leaders support their workload. They comment that they love their job and benefit from a wealth of training, including specific training on forest school initiatives. Professional development is precise and leaders target this effectively to help staff develop their knowledge and skills further. Recent training on communication and mathematics have led to a review of how they support children's learning in these areas. Staff now consistently plan ways to encourage mathematics and this has impacted positively on children's mathematical skills.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Staff work effectively with parents. They share detailed information about where children are in their learning and how parents can support them at home. Staff also communicate well with other professionals who are involved in children's education and care. They talk regularly with staff from local schools and nurseries to develop consistent approaches to supporting children's learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders deploy staff thoughtfully to ensure that all staff can meet children's individual needs, including children who face barriers to their wellbeing. Leaders and staff are incredibly caring and attentive to children's needs. They use their knowledge of children carefully to identify when children need additional support to settle and benefit from the routines on offer. For example, staff provide individualised support to children with barriers to their learning who take longer to settle. They respond swiftly when children show signs of tiredness and give them time to relax in the hammock. When children settle, staff give them the opportunity to explore the environment independently. Staff typically help children to understand how they can manage their own health and hygiene. Children manage their personal hygiene with increasing independence. Staff remind children to wash their hands after using the toilet or before eating. They talk to

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

children about foods that are good for them as children enjoy a healthy snack. However, on some occasions staff do not consistently implement key policies and procedures. For example, staff do not always remind parents and children of key messages regarding healthy eating. Consequently, not all children make consistently healthy choices about the food they eat.

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

Children thoroughly enjoy their time in the forest kindergarten. They access the full curriculum in the forest. They climb trees and dig, as well as exploring water and mud. Children learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, they use tools, such as knives and potato peelers to prepare fruit and vegetables for snack. Children peel carrots using peelers with confidence and control. With support, they turn the carrots around and point the peelers away from them.

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

Children attend regularly and greet staff with enthusiasm. Children who face barriers to their learning settle well and develop the confidence to explore the forest independently, checking in with familiar adults as necessary for reassurance.

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Address:

National Trust Gibside, Burnopfield Children learn that their thoughts and views are valued by staff. They have the confidence to suggest things that they can do. They also learn that sometimes other children have different opinions to them. When this happens, children use simple strategies, such as voting on stories to read, to help them to reach a solution. Children are keen to express their ideas because they know staff listen to them and plan activities to support this. For example, children create a musical band using spoons and metal pots. While some children develop this into a marching band, others help staff to gather resources to make musical instruments. Children work alongside each other happily as they create shakers. Older children confidently explain to others how they make the instruments. Children politely ask their friends if they could pass them the paper or the rubber bands.

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Address:

Children are highly engaged in their learning. They concentrate intently as they listen to stories. Others beam as they begin to learn how pipettes work. They watch intently as staff show them how to squeeze the water out. Children take turns as they learn about forces as they send cars down the ramp.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that staff consistently implement policies and procedures, particularly those regarding healthy eating.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, the special educational needs coordinator, children and parents 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. Newcastle Upon Tyne NE16 6BG Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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About this inspection

Registered person: Stomping Grounds North East CIO

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About this inspection

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 09:00 - 15:00

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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 standard 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 standard 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

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