Farmyard Friends Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children delight in being at this exciting and vibrant setting. As children arrive, they are greeted at the door by friendly staff who are warm and welcoming. Staff say good morning and offer a cheery smile. Staff make sure that children's favourite resources are available for them. This helps children to settle and feel safe and secure. Children are eager to learn and take an active role in their play. For instance, young children investigate the texture of sand and water in the garden. They use buckets and an outside tap to add more water and delight in splashing in the puddles they have created. Older children explore pumpkins and make magic potions. They draw on their knowledge of books and stories as they mix the ingredients and remember the magic words.

Staff have high expectations of what children can achieve. They expertly use children's spontaneous interests to develop their early mathematical learning further. For example, older children enthusiastically roll balls, conkers and pine cones down a chute. They use timers to see which ones are the fastest. Children demonstrate exceptional levels of concentration and motivation to learn as they explore through cause and effect. Staff join in to help children understand that the size and shape of the object has an impact on how quickly it moves.

Children show exceptional levels of critical thinking skills, perseverance and a can-do attitude to achieve their goals. For example, children concentrate as they thread pasta onto pipe cleaners. They find different ways to thread the pasta, so that it fits together to make a bracelet. Children are proud of what they have accomplished and share this with staff and peers.

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

• Leaders and staff have high ambitions for every child to develop a love of learning and achieve to the best of their abilities. They have put in place a curriculum that inspires children to learn. Staff use their detailed knowledge of every child to plan next steps in children's learning. This ensures that all children make progress and prepares them for the next stage of education.
• There is a strong focus on learning in the outdoor environment and through the local community. Children's learning flows seamlessly between indoors and outdoors. Leaders and staff believe that the natural world provides children with a sense of wonder and excitement for learning that cannot be achieved elsewhere. Children regularly go for walks in the local community. They visit the beach to explore the sand and look for shells and pebbles. Children help to care for the animals on the farm too. In lambing season, they help to bottle feed the lambs as they learn care and respect for living things.
• Children hear rich language from staff, which fosters their communication, language and literacy skills. They have a wonderful love of songs, books, poems and stories. Staffs' animated storytelling captivates children and they help children to recall favourite stories superbly. Staff link stories through craft activities and richly resourced role-play and small world areas.
• Children show excellent behaviour for their age and ability. They listen carefully and respond to instructions from an early age. Children display high levels of confidence, independence and respect. For example, older children help to mop up water that has spilt on the floor. They put up wet floor signs, so that no one slips. This shows that children value their environment and understand how to keep each other safe.
• Transitions within the setting and school are superb. Staff have developed highly successful strategies to share information with parents, school teachers and each other about children's personalities and learning. Staff support children to know what to expect through stories and homemade photo books. Staff help children to build on the skills they will need to succeed, such as independence, resilience and confidence.
• Inclusion is at the heart of the setting and is supported by highly successful partnerships with other professionals. Staff diligently monitor children's progress to identify developmental gaps or delay. This informs meticulous action plans and detailed early intervention programmes.
• The highly qualified management team carefully monitors and develops practice through first-class training for staff and extensive self-reflection tools. There is excellent consultation with staff and parents. For example, through questionnaires.
• Staff inspire parents to support children's learning through an exemplary range of information booklets, support packs and home learning resources. During the COVID-19 pandemic, staff adapted parents' evenings, carrying these out through online meeting forums and over the telephone.