Farthing Wood Private Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are greeted warmly by staff who know them well. Children's behaviour is very good. They demonstrate lovely manners to each other and to adults. Children encourage their friends to join in their play. They patiently wait for others to begin their storybook, cheering as they arrive. This helps children to feel safe and secure.

Children laugh and clap in excitement as they pop bubbles in the air. They demonstrate their understanding of their body parts as staff tell them to pop the bubbles with their elbow, foot and forehead. Babies develop their grip using brushes and sponges to paint. They develop their senses as they listen to the sounds the spoons make as they bang them together. Children scrunch up foil and look at the patterns that the fairy lights make on it. Children explore and learn about their sensory environment.

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

• Managers and staff implement a curriculum that ensures that children have the skills and knowledge that they need to be ready for school. Children independently put on their coat and shoes, wash their hands before eating and after going to the toilet. They serve their own food. Children are confident to ask for what they want or express their needs to staff. As a result, children make good progress in their learning and development, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• The special educational needs coordinator works with parents to implement strategies and targets to support children's learning and development. However, she does not always confirm receipt of referrals made to external agencies. This impacts on the targeted support from external agencies being implemented in a timely manner.
• Children develop good speech and language skills as they enjoy reading stories. Children recall the storyline before they start. Staff ask children to clarify which characters are in the story. They use lots of repetition of words to ensure that children understand their meaning. For example, when reading 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff', children ask lots of questions. Staff encourage them to think about what size goat will cross the bridge next and what they want to eat.
• Children make good progress in their physical development. Staff regularly take children on walks to the park and to the woods. They help children learn to walk, climb and crawl through tunnels. Children enjoy playing with dough. They pinch and push their fingers into it, using small tools to shape their dough. This helps children to develop the fine motor skills that they will need to be able to write.
• Overall, the nursery is clean, and a daily cleaning routine is in place. However, fixed radiator covers have prevented the radiators from being cleaned. This has resulted in a large build up of dirt and dust on the radiators, with limited access to clean them.
• Staff are supported well by managers. Robust recruitment and induction procedures ensure that only suitable people can work with children. Staff's skills and knowledge are regularly updated through training. The manager checks staff's knowledge through regular quizzes, supervision sessions and discussions.
• Partnership with parents is effective. Parents value the time that staff spend talking to them daily about their children's time at the nursery. They receive a written daily update about their children's daily activities. Parents have recently attended a parents evening to look more closely at their child's learning, progress and next steps in learning. However, not all parents know who their child's key person is following recent changes. This prevents parents from sharing information about children's emotional well-being and development at home with the relevant staff member.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• confirm referrals to external agencies for children with SEND have been received, to ensure that targeted support is implemented as soon as possible, to help children continue to make good progress in their learning and development
• ensure that covered radiators are regularly removed and cleaned to maintain a clean and hygienic environment for children to play in
• ensure that all parents know who their child's new key person is.