Country Kids Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy at the nursery. Those who are a little unsettled or unsure due to being new and settling are soon reassured by nurturing and kind staff. Children form strong attachments with the staff, who support their emotional well-being very well. This makes children feel safe and secure. Young babies giggle with delight as staff place puppets on their hands and sing songs. They cuddle up to staff, who read them stories. Younger children enjoy exploring ice that has frozen in the shape of hands. They wash these with warm water and watch as they start to melt. Children learn about self-care and how to keep themselves healthy. They use shaving foam and toothbrushes to clean laminated pictures of teeth. All children benefit from freshly prepared hot meals and snacks.

There is a strong focus on all children being outdoors in the wonderful and spacious garden. Staff support children's knowledge and understanding of the awe and wonder of nature. Children learn about wildlife and insects, such as bees. Staff teach children about growth as they plant and maintain their own fruit and vegetable garden. Children talk about how they need to eat their vegetables and fruit to grow big and strong. Older children can climb large tree trunks or navigate their way through an assault course made of tyres. This helps to enhance their physical skills as part of everyday play and fun.

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

• Leaders and staff plan and implement a curriculum designed to continually build and enhance children's skills in preparation for their next stage of development and eventual move to school.
• A long-standing and close-knit staff team works well together. Staff deliver the curriculum so that all children make good progress in their learning. Staff report high levels of morale. They have access to training to help support and deepen their knowledge. This helps to ensure that the quality of teaching is consistently good.
• Children who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. Staff complete detailed assessments and targets for what they would like children to learn and how to support them. However, they do not consistently work in partnership with outside agencies to swiftly obtain expert guidance to support children to be the best they can be.
• Staff know their key children well. They gather detailed information from parents about children's likes and dislikes and use this to plan activities in line with children's interests. However, on occasion, the planned group activities do not always meet the children's differing abilities and individual needs. Consequently, some children disengage from the activity and can disrupt others in their learning. That said, overall, children behave well.
• Nursery routines support children to understand what is expected of them. For example, children know they need to wash their hands after playing outdoors or before eating. That said, sometimes, children are sitting patiently for prolonged periods, which means they lose out on their learning and access to the curriculum on offer.
• Parents are extremely complimentary about the setting. They say the setting is very welcoming and that staff are exceptionally friendly and caring. Parents feel there is a genuine interest and love for each and every child. They especially like the extracurricular activities, such as playing in a paddling pool when the weather is hot or visits from the 'animal man' and his exotic animals. Information is shared with parents through an online app and any suggestions they give are always acted on.
• Independence is promoted throughout the nursery. Young babies learn to feed themselves. Younger children are supported by staff to toilet train. Older children dress themselves and put their own shoes on. Staff support children to understand their feelings and those of their friends. They take turns and share. This prepares children well for school.
• Children have lots of opportunities to practise the skills they are learning as staff positively interact alongside them and are good role models. Staff provide a variety of different activities for children to experience. Outdoors, young babies watch bubbles blowing in the air as more mobile children chase after them as they say, 'pop, pop' and jump on them. Children use chalk as they draw pictures on the ground, and this helps with later scissor and pencil skills. Older children make soup in their imaginary play in the outdoor mud kitchen. They recall past knowledge about the vegetables they use in their soup.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen professional relationships with outside agencies to seek swift guidance for children who may have SEND to help further enhance their plans of support
• review the organisation of nursery routines so that children do not wait too long without accessing the curriculum on offer
• support staff to enhance their planning and delivery of the curriculum during group activities, so that it meets the differing needs of the children.