Fairfield Day Nursery Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel happy and safe in this friendly and nurturing environment. They form strong bonds with the adults who care for them. Staff play alongside children and help them to develop good levels of engagement and concentration. Young children explore the sand tray and dig for treasure, and staff help them to collect and count the treasure and encourage them to persevere. Children smile while they play alongside their key person and enjoy being told how well they have done.

Children behave well because staff know how to help children manage their own behaviour. Children calm with the support of their key person who helps them settle into quiet spaces. Children communicate their needs using visual images. They learn to feel proud of themselves because staff have created a culture in which children's achievements are celebrated. Children hug their friends and say 'well done' when they finish building a tower together.

Children make good progress because staff want all children to succeed and be ready to start school. Additional funding is spent to support children's development. For example, staff think about what each individual child needs and offer extra sessions, staff training, and purchase equipment to support children's individual needs.

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

• Leaders are reflective and want the best outcomes for children. They have implemented a new curriculum. This helps staff follow the interests of children. For example, children in pre-school pretend to be doctors, so staff introduce costumes and props and help support their play. The curriculum helps children to show good levels of engagement. However, while many children enjoy learning outside, access to the outdoor area is limited. To further enhance the curriculum, staff should consider how to increase outdoor learning opportunities.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive prompt early support. Staff work exceptionally well with parents and other professionals to create individual learning plans to help children with SEND progress well from their starting points. Partner agencies praise the nursery for supporting parents to arrange and attend appointments to support children in their health, education and well-being.
• Parent partnerships are strong. Parents describe the nursery as being a caring setting that nurtures their child and the whole family. Staff provide regular updates for parents about their child's ongoing progress. Staff makes sure that strategies used to support children at nursery are shared with parents to support their child at home.
• Care practices are good, and staff meet the needs of children. Staff find out about children's care routines before they start nursery by offering settling-in sessions and meetings with parents. As a result, staff have a good knowledge of their children and can quickly spot when they are feeling poorly. Babies are rocked and sung to sleep by their key person. Babies drift off to sleep because they feel relaxed and cared for by their key person.
• Staff encourage children to be independent. For example, in the baby room, staff help children to choose healthy snacks, and they feed themselves with a spoon. Older children receive guidance on self-dressing. They change their outdoor shoes when they arrive and put their coats and bags away. This fosters their independence in carrying out activities for themselves and helps to prepare them for school.
• Children are supported to progress in their communication and language skills. Staff regularly sing songs, tell stories and build on words children know. Children confidently communicate with their friends, and staff help them to engage in meaningful conversations, which widens vocabulary. During lunch, children use good manners and take turns while they wait to be served.
• Leaders review staff workload. As a result, they have reduced paperwork so that staff have more time to help children learn. Staff say this helps them to put children's needs first and to spend their time playing alongside children. However, leaders could offer further support to staff to help them plan individual next steps for children that are specifically focused and age appropriate.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide children with more outdoor learning opportunities based on their specific interests and preferences
• support staff to plan next steps that are focused on the individual age and stage of development of each child.