Farlington Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Friendly staff greet children with warm and happy smiles. They welcome them inside and support children to get ready for their day. Staff create highly positive and responsive relationships with babies. They offer them cuddles and reassurance as they settle in. Older children are confident and independent. They cheerily place their belongings away and say hello to their friends.

Children learn to be respectful to those around them. They use remarkably good manners as they say please and thank you to one another during play. They have a secure understanding of the different golden rules in place at the nursery. Staff introduce expectations clearly and consistently to children. For example, staff offer full explanations to support children to understand consequences to different actions. Children's positive behaviour is promoted.

Staff develop exciting activities for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children explore with paint, glue and scissors as they create imaginatively. They learn to use scissors skilfully. For example, they carefully make small snips in tissue paper and stick pieces to their pictures. Staff encourage children to try hard with their activities and offer plenty of praise for their artwork. Children are proud of their accomplishments.

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

• Leaders are highly passionate about the quality of education and care they provide for children. They have developed an ambitious curriculum. It focuses on developing children's skills while following their interests closely. For example, staff work with parents to identify children's favourite toys and activities while planning for their learning. Staff know children well and regularly use assessment to plan effectively for the next steps in their learning. This means that children are consistently supported to make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff implement the mathematics curriculum strongly across the nursery. They recognise how children learn differently, and staff are quick to adapt teaching to suit different groups of children. Babies begin to learn numbers one to three. Staff use the language of number in their play and demonstrate quantities as they explore materials together. Older children learn about trajectory as they push different objects down ramps. Children receive teaching that increases their mathematical knowledge.
• Overall, activities are well planned. Resources available inspire interest and promote children's engagement in learning. Occasionally, the organisation of routines disrupts children's focus and enjoyment of high-quality learning experiences delivered by staff. This means that, at times, children's positive attitudes to learning are not consistently increased by staff.
• Children have opportunities for outdoor play in the well-organised garden. Staff inspire children's learning in the environment as they make potions together and go on exciting bug hunts. Children use fact sheets to help them identify the different creatures they find. Staff also encourage children to use their larger movements. Together, they kick and throw balls to one another accurately. Children receive good support for their physical development.
• Leaders recognise the importance of teaching children about people whose lives are different to their own. They plan interesting trips into the community. These aim to spark children's curiosity about the world around them. Staff take children to a local care home to participate in different activities with residents. Through activities such as these, children begin to gain knowledge about the wider community through broad experiences.
• Leaders work tirelessly to ensure all children in attendance achieve the best possible outcomes. Most notably, they build strong partnerships with professionals to support children with SEND. For example, they collaborate with speech and language therapists. Together, they continually adapt and implement effective plans for children's education. This means that children consistently benefit from a shared approach.
• Parents speak highly of the communication they receive from their child's key person. Staff ensure parents are consistently involved with children's learning and provide strategies to extend learning at home. For example, children take books home to share with their families, and then bring them back to talk about the story with their friends. Parent partnerships are strong.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff recognise when children are fully engaged in their learning to reduce disruptions to their concentration and focus.