Mud Club at Foresters

Mud Club at Foresters

Unique reference number (URN): 2805224 Address: Glade off Barnet Wood Road, Foresters, Barnet Wood Road, Bromley, BR2 8HJ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 10/09/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Mud Club LLP

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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 feel consistently emotionally secure and confident in the environment. They receive embedded support that helps them to develop social skills. All children become curious learners who enjoy increasingly tricky physical tasks. For example, children build fundamental physical skills as they climb trees at their own pace. They talk to each other about how to stay safe as they decide which branches are suitable to climb under the watchful guidance of staff. Children build an impressive set of physical skills that help them to build strength, balance and coordination.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children enjoy high-quality interactions of staff that are embedded throughout the setting so that at all times of the day. For example, children enjoy asking staff questions as they work things out. Children enjoy negotiating with friends and develop the social skills they need to take the lead in their own play. All children achieve well across the areas of learning; they gain a strong foundation of skills and knowledge in preparation for their future lives.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders establish positive routines for all children that support them to access the curriculum consistently. Staff carefully consider the additional support that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities need to learn. For example, they encourage children with barriers to their wellbeing to make decisions about routines that promote positive behaviours. This includes encouraging children to say when they are hungry or need to rest. This flexibility is embedded by all staff and allow children to learn about their behaviour and how routines support them to feel good about themselves.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children build exceptionally positive relationships with staff who know them well. Staff select activities that children feel excited about. For example, they recognise when children show an interest in birds and plan creative opportunities for them to express this through activities. Children focus consistently well as they spend time on their creations. They develop a positive self-image, celebrating their unique personalities as they share what they know and can do. Staff take steps to mitigate barriers to attendance and plan a curriculum around children who attend flexibly, including those who attend one session per week. This ensures that all children access a full curriculum.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders create a curriculum that motivates children to learn a rich range of skills and knowledge through nature-based play. Staff embed the curriculum consistently, enabling children to develop key knowledge across the early years curriculum. They teach children to develop practical skills that help them to apply mathematical knowledge as they cook, exploring herbs and plants to make potions. Children explore measuring, estimating and a rich understanding of how things work.

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Expected standard

Staff encourage children to think, describe what they know and can do, and celebrate their success. Staff carefully balance creating a flexible curriculum that enables children to make choices while ensuring that children complete important tasks that help them learn, for example, listening to stories and speaking to adults. Children enjoy spending time building on projects such as weaving creations and exploring colours. Staff give children exceptional levels of support and time to extend what they know and can do. Children get to repeat and reinforce activities that strengthen their skills. They feel confident to share these with other children and show them how to use equipment patiently and safely. All children show they feel motivated and excited as they explore the setting.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Staff work diligently with parents to identify barriers to learning and wellbeing for all children. The way they adapt the teaching of rules at the setting is inspiring. Staff teach children to consider how to keep themselves safe in a variety of ways to ensure all children can access activities and understand. For example, children talk about tree-climbing safety and agree on strategies that help them to learn, as well as consider hazards. All children are included and involved in setting the expectations at this outdoor setting. The consistent reinforcement of these rules helps all children to thrive in a safe space.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Staff enable children to access group activities that help them to develop deep concentration skills. They adapt their teaching skilfully to ensure that they consider how best to help each child to focus. This includes choosing the right time and environment for children to sit and concentrate. All children develop deep levels of focus and concentration that they can apply in their learning. Staff work with a range of partners to identify and understand barriers to learning. This includes experts, health professionals and families. They diligently plan activities that focus on gaps in learning to help all children to thrive in all aspects of their learning and development.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff place children's mental health and wellbeing at the heart of their practice. This means that children's wellbeing needs are met well. Staff work with parents and partners to promote children's wellbeing and consider the background experiences of all children to inform their practice. Staff focus on supporting children's physical health and this is a curriculum priority. This helps children to understand their bodies, and they recognise the importance of physical exercise and spending time in the fresh air. For example, staff teach children to use equipment as they move across the forest, including using beams and plants to balance. All children are happy and motivated learners.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff take steps to teach children about a healthy diet through cooking activities. For example, they teach them about herbs and plants and how these can be used to promote health in different ways. However, staff do not enable all children to consistently apply this knowledge outside of the setting. For example, some children do not recognise which foods are nutritionally healthy. As a result, opportunities for children to develop life-long healthy habits are not yet fully embedded.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are reflective of their practice. They work together to regularly review policies and procedures that enable the smooth running of the setting. Leaders engage with parents well. They give parents information about children's learning that helps them to extend their learning at home. Staff consider the learning experiences of children to enhance their curriculum. For example, they work with parents of children with gaps in their learning and wellbeing to understand and address these barriers. Leaders regularly ask for feedback to help inform their decisions. This includes working with external experts to support planning and development in the setting to promote children's learning. Leaders consider staff wellbeing, they help staff to feel able to come to them with any concerns or issues. This helps all staff to feel valued.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders undertake training to enhance their own practice. They work with staff to ensure they understand the curriculum and what it means in practice. Leaders generally promote staff's ongoing development through discussions about training, relevant to their knowledge and skills. However, opportunities for leaders to support all staff to consistently benefit from professional development opportunities setting are limited. As a result, not all staff are able to develop their knowledge and skills over time.

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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 enjoy freedom to explore at this outdoor setting. They collaborate together as they develop curiosity and discover different ways to learn. For example, children take risks in their play as they explore wood using different tools. They teach each other to be careful as they assess risks, including navigating the stream and crossing safely under the watchful eye of staff. Children learn to negotiate with one another and work together as they solve problems. All children feel equally valued as they share their knowledge and wisdom with others. This gives them confidence and a feeling of success.

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

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are fully included in all aspects of life in the forest-based setting. Staff create an environment that gives children the space to explore at their own pace. Children feel emotionally secure and happy as they repeat familiar sensory activities that help them to feel calm and manage their emotions. For example, different children bounce on the slack line or swing in the hammock as they develop physical awareness and balance. Leaders ensure that any barriers to attendance and punctuality are anticipated to support all children to access learning.

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

Children of all ages gain a wealth of skills that help prepare them for future success. For example, children have a wealth of opportunities to talk to adults and their friends as they learn to express themselves. Staff remove barriers for children who find different social situations challenging. They give them the right amount of support to express their needs. Staff tell children stories and hold discussions that allow all children to contribute. Children know that their opinions and feelings are valid. All children are critical-thinkers who feel motivated to discover the answers to questions. This helps them to build the skills they need for their future lives.

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Address:

Glade off Barnet Wood Road Foresters Barnet Wood Road Bromley BR2 8HJ

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Next steps

Leaders should further develop how they enable all staff to access professional development opportunities to consistently develop their teaching skills. Leaders should develop how staff teach children to make healthy choices to support their life-long wellbeing.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, parents and children 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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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. 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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