Down On The Farm

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The nursery is located on a working farm, providing children with rich opportunities to explore the natural world and take part in daily farm life. Children arrive happy and eager to begin their play. They develop secure relationships with the caring and attentive staff team, which knows them and their families well. Staff support children to learn familiar routines to help them feel safe and confident. Children behave well and understand what is expected of them, such as using good manners and helping tidy away toys before mealtimes. Staff use kind and gentle words to help children move calmly between activities. They support children to manage their feelings, such as offering a cuddle when a child feels frustrated.

All children make good progress. Staff deliver an ambitious curriculum that builds on what they already know and can do. They plan activities around children's interests and next steps in learning. Children have daily opportunities for fresh air and exercise outside in the nursery gardens and surrounding farm environment. Babies develop their core strength in readiness for crawling and walking. Staff sit alongside them to support their play. They encourage babies to stand at a low-level tray to explore different textures, such as soil. This helps them to build physical strength, balance and curiosity.

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

• The leadership and management of the nursery is strong. Leaders have defined roles and responsibilities and work closely with staff to ensure the smooth running of the nursery. They are committed to providing high-quality care and education, with children's well-being and development at the heart of everything they do. Leaders reflect regularly on practice and work with the staff team to drive continuous improvements, leading to positive outcomes for all children.
• Staff gather a range of information from parents about children's care needs and development when they first begin to attend. This enables them to plan effectively for children's learning from the outset. However, as the nursery now operates on a term-time-only basis, staff do not routinely gather up-to-date information from parents at the start of each new term. This means they are sometimes unaware of children's progress or new interests that have developed during the break, which hinders how precisely they plan for children's current learning needs when they return.
• Staff plan daily activities, such as circle time, to support children's understanding of the days of the week, numbers and counting. However, they do not always make sure that the activity meets children's individual needs or adapt their interactions to meet the developmental stage of younger children, who sometimes lose interest and disengage.
• The key-person system supports children's well-being and development effectively. Children build secure and trusting relationships with familiar adults, who have a good understanding of their needs and encourage them to join in with new experiences. Strong partnerships with parents ensure a consistent approach to care and learning. Key persons speak to parents at drop-off and collection times to keep them updated about children's achievements and care needs. They work closely with parents to support children's ongoing development, such as helping with potty training or language skills.
• Parents express high levels of satisfaction with the caring staff team. They value staff's open and regular communication and appreciate the warm relationships staff have with children.
• Staff create a language-rich environment that supports children's early communication and literacy skills. They read stories using expressive voices to keep children engaged and develop a love of books. Babies enjoy daily walks around the adjoining farm, where they hear sounds such as farm machinery and baby chicks chirping. This helps to develop their early listening and attention skills. Children join in with familiar songs and rhymes, building their vocabulary and confidence. Staff pause during activities to let children finish rhymes or repeat key words, encouraging them to speak and express themselves.
• Staff support children's good health. They gently attend to their personal care and maintain consistent hygiene routines throughout the day. Staff kindly remind children to wash their hands at regular intervals throughout the day. Young children sleep peacefully and comfortably because staff follow familiar routines from home. Staff use safe sleeping principles and regularly check on sleeping children to ensure their safety and well-being.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance partnerships with parents to regularly gather up-to-date information about children's interests and development, and use this to better inform planning to help children make even better progress
• strengthen the planning and delivery of group activities to ensure that they are developmentally appropriate and effectively meet the needs of all children.