Fledglings Day Nursery (Solihull) Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The layout and use of the environment and resources makes a powerful contribution to children's independence, well-being and learning. Children immerse themselves in open-ended play. They explore and experiment with confidence. For example, pre-school children work together to syphon water and others describe in detail the insects they have collected. Children gain an in-depth understanding about the changing seasons, living things and their natural environment. Children aged two- and three-years-old show excellent levels of concentration and a real understanding of birds as they make fat balls and bird feeders.

Babies benefit from highly sensitive staff, who are gentle and respectful when carrying out their care routines. Behaviour is exemplary and all children are totally absorbed in their play and during activities. For example, babies delight in playing with jelly and gloop and are supported extremely well to communicate. All children, including babies, show a keen interest in books and story sessions. Children who are two-years-old are extremely enthusiastic and engage fully during the story session, despite their young age. Children build on their existing learning and are eager to try new experiences. For example, children aged one- and two-years old are enthralled when they are given the freedom to use leeks, potatoes and carrots to paint with.

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

• The outstanding outcomes are clearly attributed to the staff's excellent understanding of the securely embedded curriculum and it's successful implementation. Staff expertly use aspects of the forest school ethos and the Froebel approach to deliver a curriculum which is centred on exploration and the freedom to discover. They value each child's uniqueness and focus heavily on what children can do and skilfully facilitate their learning.
• Promoting children's personal, social and emotional development is the central focus in the educational programme. Staff are finely tuned in to the needs of children and respond sensitively and help them feel safe and relaxed, so they are ready to play and learn. The highly knowledgeable staff play a key role in supporting children's development. They confidently and skilfully know when to step back and when to offer support and encouragement to help children make connections and learn from their experiences.
• Staff provide exceptional opportunities for children to connect to the natural world through the outdoors and the forest school sessions. Children are given space to test their ideas and this open-ended play allows children's creativity to flourish. Staff skilfully combine mathematics and literacy into these experiences to make learning joyful.
• The leadership and management team are outstanding and children are at the heart of everything they do. This results in excellent outcomes for children. A dedicated member of the leadership team works with staff daily, offering incisive coaching, mentoring and support to ensure teaching is consistently of the highest quality. Staff speak highly of the support they receive and the targeted programme of professional development.
• Staff fully understand that working in partnership with parents is crucial to their success. They place a top priority on gaining in-depth knowledge about children and their families and use this information exceptionally well to provide personalised learning. Parents' feedback is overwhelmingly positive. They are highly impressed by the range of experiences on offer, how well their children progress and the two-way flow of information about their progress.
• Staff work closely with parents and expertly use their observations of what children can do. They sharply use this information to promote children's communication and language and provide for children's individual learning styles to motivate them to learn. Staff deployment is excellent to help each child succeed. For example, children who speak English as an additional language make rapid progress from their starting points and are fully engaged during activities.
• There are excellent systems in place to teach children about living a healthy lifestyle. For example, children have a deep understanding about which foods are healthy and the benefits of exercise. All children, including babies, have ample opportunities to extend and practise their physical skills, both indoors and outdoors.