Brue Farm Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children form strong bonds with the friendly, caring staff, who give a very nurturing, reassuring approach. On arrival, children show great delight as they run to staff for a warm, welcoming cuddle. They feel valued and safe in their care. Staff have high expectations of all children and create a well-balanced curriculum for each age group, which supports them to make continual achievements. Children interact happily with their friends and learn to share and take turns. They have fun in their play, such as when jumping in puddles or digging in the garden together. They ask politely, 'Would you like to dig for some worms in the mud with me?'

Children experience a great variety of motivating activities that enhance their knowledge and skills very well. They develop their creativity and imaginations effectively in their play. For example, they play 'hospitals' and tell staff they are using a 'stethoscope' or a 'blood pressure monitor'. They find some herbs, runner beans and leaves to mix with water and earth and create their special concoctions in the mud kitchen outdoors. Younger children push toy diggers and tractors around and begin to make the 'brrmm, brrmm' noises of the engines. Older children carefully design their 'cardboard box handbags' using different textured shapes of material. They are keen to write their names on their creations and begin to form recognisable letter shapes.

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

• Leaders have a strong ethos to promote staff's professional development. Staff say they feel very well supported in their roles. As a team they have raised their awareness of different strategies that support children's behaviour. This has helped them provide a consistent approach that helps children learn how to behave well and understand the expected boundaries.
• Children gain very good language skills. Younger children begin to form five- and six-word sentences and use these in context. For example, they look for the cows in an adjoining field and say, 'They are so far away.' Older children tell staff that 'terrified' is another way of saying 'scared'. Children gain a wide vocabulary and learn words such as 'focaccia', 'ciabatta' and 'baguette' when they visit a nearby bakery.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents speak very highly of staff and say the nursery is led with great skill and dedication. They say their children settle easily and have made excellent progress since starting. Parents comment that staff are professional and committed to their role. They are appreciative of the good communication links formed to keep them frequently updated about their children's activities and achievements.
• Staff observe children's play and identify what they need to learn next. They work hard to create rich and motivating learning experiences that will help children develop the necessary skills for their future learning. However, at times, noise levels rise, and the organisation of some group activities means children are not purposefully engaged consistently well. For example, children are distracted by what is going on around them and become restless when they are unable to hear or concentrate as well as they do in most other activities.
• Children enjoy great opportunities to develop their physical skills. For example, children gain confidence in the water at their weekly swimming sessions. They like learning different yoga movements and develop control of their bodies. They strengthen their muscles and coordination skills, such as when lifting a heavy watering can to fill a container with water. Younger children gain good balance and become confident walkers. They giggle excitedly as they run around after a friend and then manage to control how they stop. Older children excitedly show a visitor how they can make a swing go very high.
• Staff provide excellent support for children's understanding of the world and cultural capital through a wide range of enriching experiences. For example, children like going for walks with staff to a local farm, where they see the donkeys, or to a nearby bakery, where they choose the bread for their snacks. They listen with interest to the baker, who tells them how the burger buns are made. They enjoy meeting visitors from an owl sanctuary and learn that owls have three eyelids. Children show great fascination when they find a baby frog in the garden. Staff are quick to provide related resources, such as toy frogs, magnifying glasses and nets for children to explore and build on their curiosity. Children are keen to go with staff to collect the eggs that the nursery chickens have laid.
• Staff recognise how to help children learn to regulate their emotions. They support them well to make strong friendships with each other and show kindness to others. For example, children help their friends put on their wellington boots to play outdoors. They see that their friends want to use a toy ride-on tractor and help them find one to go on.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and improve the organisation of some group activities and minimise noise levels to support all children's engagement, participation and learning consistently well.