Cotswold Bunnies in the Cowshed

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy the many varied and exciting learning opportunities at the nursery. Key persons make sure they are on hand to greet parents and children as they arrive. They settle children quickly and help them start exploring with their friends. Staff know children well. They gather information from parents and from their observations of the children as they play. They use this to inform their curriculum, ensuring that it builds effectively on what children know and can do.

Children have plenty of chances to make choices about how they want to play, both indoors and outdoors. Staff provide an array of resources and activities that promote all children's development well. In the nursery, younger children readily join in with familiar songs and rhymes. They recall the actions and attempt to join in with the words. Toddlers have fun following the recipe to make cakes. They copy as staff model how to count the spoonsful of ingredients they need. Pre-school children enjoy outings to the nearby wood where they gain an understanding of the wider world and nature. Staff encourage children to do things for themselves. Younger children learn to use cutlery to eat with; older children put on their own coats and attempt to fasten their shoes. Staff reward children's efforts and have high expectations of children's achievements. Children are quickly becoming independent, motivated and resilient learners.

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

• Staff focus on supporting children's communication and language. Those working with the younger children model how to say words and use signs and gestures to help convey meaning. Staff provide time for children to think and respond. Children are learning that their thoughts are important and how to take turns in conversations.
• Children have plenty of opportunities to play and learn outdoors. Staff adapt activities and resources to ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have chances to explore the natural world and join in with physical activities. Children have fun riding on wheeled toys, filling and emptying containers with water or creating 'castles' with sand. Staff encourage children to keep trying even when they are struggling. Children persevere and show delight when staff praise their efforts.
• Staff provide inviting environments for children to explore. They make sure there are a variety of activities and equipment that meet children's needs and promote their learning and development. However, sometimes in the younger-age rooms, there are too many resources out at one time and the space is cluttered. Children become distracted and miss out on opportunities to move around, explore and experiment as well as they could.
• Children's behaviour is good. Staff are good role models. They remind children to use words rather than actions if they want something another child has. Older children recall the 'rules' and ask for sand timers to share with friends when there are not enough paintbrushes for them all to use at the same time. Staff working with younger children support them to take turns and manage emotions. For instance, they remind children to wait for their turn going down the slide rather than pushing in front of others.
• Children are becoming confident, independent learners. They join in cooking activities where they learn to use different tools, measure ingredients and develop physical skills as they stir the ingredients together. They wait for their turn to stir and readily help clean up after. However, sometimes, staff do not recognise when quieter children would benefit from their interaction. They do not notice these children waiting to join in the activity, as they are concentrating on the more confident communicators.
• Pre-school children recall previous learning, make connections and build on their mathematical knowledge. They explore in the nearby woodland and try to find the 'witch'. Then they listen to a story about a witch, brewing potions that can be 'nasty or nice'. Children vote on whether to open flaps right or left, up or down to reveal a 'treat' or not. Then they get the chance to make their own potions in the water tray, adding colour and glitter to create the 'magic'. Staff encourage children by asking questions, posing challenges and helping them accept others' choices.
• Parents comment that staff provide lots of information about what their children are doing and learning. They get many opportunities to talk with key persons about their children. Staff offer ideas for parents to help children's learning at home. They work with parents and other professionals to provide support and help for all children, both in the setting and at home. All children, including those with SEND, make good progress in their learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• make sure staff provide consistent and high-quality interactions with quieter, less confident children to engage them better in learning
• make sure the organisation of the learning environment for younger children provides space for them to explore, investigate and move around freely.