Farley Salisbury Outdoor Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provider successfully implements a curriculum that gives children the confidence to explore and connect with nature. Children love to spend time outdoors in the fresh air, engaging in a broad range of learning experiences. Babies experiment with making different sounds as they use sticks to play bells and sound tubes while singing nursery rhyme songs. Staff help children make loud sounds and then contrast these with quiet sounds. Toddlers collect conkers, leaves and feathers to use as painting tools. They learn to mix blue and yellow paint to make green and explore different shapes that their materials make on wooden boards. Older children play alongside each other to 'rescue' a teddy bear 'stuck' in the middle of a pretend 'lava pit' sandpit. They also demonstrate problem-solving skills when constructing stepping stones with improvised equipment from chairs and bricks to safely climb across to save 'Teddy'.

Children are confident and feel safe and secure at the nursery. They talk confidently and ask staff when they need help or are anxious about who to play with. Staff encourage independence and have high expectations of children's behaviour. When asked, children line up at the gate ready to go into the field, and they join in with counting to check that their friends are with them.

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

• The provider has developed an ambitious curriculum to prepare children for the next stages of learning. Staff use the natural environment effectively to help children achieve the next steps in their development. Children explore and interact with their peers. They learn to challenge themselves and manage risks during play, which builds their self-confidence. They spend a significant amount of time outdoors engaging in physical activities, helping them to keep fit and healthy.
• Children's emotional development is nurtured effectively. Staff encourage them to express themselves and teach them to manage their feelings. They create safe spaces for children to learn and provide appropriate care for their individual needs.
• The provider supports staff to embed the curriculum by providing training and regular feedback. Staff use their knowledge of the curriculum and children's needs to plan activities that support their development. They regularly assess children's next steps and adapt activities so that children make progress. However, occasionally, staff are not clear about the learning intentions of planned activities. This means that, at times, they do not support children to practise their skills or build further on what they already know and can do to help them make even better progress.
• Children benefit from a language-rich environment and talk confidently. Staff read books to babies, who enjoy turning pages and lifting the flaps in books. Throughout the day, staff sing songs, engaging babies and children with counting and action songs, such as 'Five Little Speckled Frogs.' Staff ask children questions, encouraging them to use interesting words to describe the leaves they have found, such as 'it's crinkly!' They regularly initiate friendly conversations with children as they sit together during mealtimes discussing their favourite food.
• The provider has high expectations for children's behaviour, creating a positive atmosphere where they value children's ideas. The relationships between staff and children are respectful. Children behave well, listen and follow instructions. However, at times, children wait too long during daily routines while their friends get ready. As a result, some children lose focus and become restless.
• The provider has a well-established key-person system. Staff know children well, and children feel safe and comfortable with them. Staff encourage children to be independent and foster a 'can-do' attitude. Children are confident and challenge themselves to balance on tricky, wobbly planks. They are proud of their achievements and are keen to show their work to staff, who praise and celebrate their efforts.
• The provider has developed good partnerships with parents. Staff communicate with parents regularly about their child's development and share key information about their day, which helps to provide a consistent approach between the child's home and the provider. This is particularly important for younger children learning to use a potty. The provider listens to feedback from parents and engages with them when they have concerns. Staff discuss children's successes at parent events, where they talk about their child's progress in more detail.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to be clear about the learning intentions of planned activities so they support children to practise and improve the skills and knowledge they need to make even more progress
• organise daily routines so children do not have to wait too long for their peers to be ready to help them maintain their concentration.