Fairlands Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel safe and secure and enjoy good relationships with their key persons. Babies enjoy singing together and choosing songs from the pictures in 'the bag', joining in with the physical movements.

The management team and staff have high expectations for all children. Older children cooperate together as they join the guttering to ensure that the water can move freely down the 'waterfall' they have created. They talk about moving the leaves to allow the water to flow. Children benefit from a curriculum that is ambitious and that meets their needs well. All children enjoy accessing the secure forest area next to the nursery. Children learn to solve problems and test out their own ideas. For example, they enjoy finding out how to fix the water supply, when the guttering becomes loose during their outdoor play.

Children confidently walk up the stepped tyres, which supports their physical skills. They show perseverance as they roll logs to the top of the hill to join in the make believe campfire and then go and get their friends to join in the activity. Children enjoy being creative. They select from a range of materials and share their creations with staff members.

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

• Children concentrate for long periods of time, particularly in the outdoor forest area and they display good levels of independence. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and manage any incidents calmly and sensitively.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to find out what children know and can do. Staff ensure they promote children's communication and social skills effectively through activities and care routines. Staff maximise one- to-one opportunities to extend the children's language. Children enjoy listening to stories and the staff interact well with the children, showing great interest in their responses.
• Children access a wide variety of opportunities and activities. However, on occasions, staff do not successfully support children's transitions between activities and routines. For example, younger children, sometimes, have to wait for prolonged periods to go outdoors.
• Staff build strong partnerships with parents. Information evenings about the curriculum have been well received by families. Parents like the learning at home activities that are provided to support their children. Parents speak highly of the new management and the changes that have been introduced to the nursery.
• The management team help staff to find out what works well in the nursery and what can be improved. For example, they identified that the construction area was not positioned in the best place in the middle of the room, so it was moved and made bigger. This resulted in children accessing the space more and for longer periods of time, engaging with their friends in play.
• The established key-person system ensures that children settle into the nursery well. Staff work closely with parents to understand the children's likes and dislikes when they start and as they continue their learning journey. Children are cuddled when they wake up from their sleep and staff gently rub their backs as they open their eyes. This helps to develop children's sense of security and well-being.
• Staff use observation and assessment well to understand what children know now and what they need to learn next. Key persons have regular discussions with the management team. They discuss children's well-being to ensure that children's needs are addressed promptly.
• The management team have high regard for staff well-being. During the COVID- 19 pandemic, they recognised the impact it was having on the team. As a result, more regular supervisions are held and staff have been rewarded and praised for their work. Staff have benefitted from this by being more positive and supportive of each other.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to consider how they can support children effectively during transitions in their daily routines.