Growing Wild Outdoor Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, curious and well behaved. They enjoy the many active and stimulating opportunities that staff plan for them in the fully outdoor environment. Staff plan engaging activities to support and challenge children. For instance, children develop their coordination and muscle control as they negotiate climbing, balancing and swinging on increasingly challenging wooden structures and trees. Children rise to staff's high expectations. They learn to play independently, but also appreciate that some tasks, such as moving heavy pans and branches, are easier to do together.

Children are safe and well cared for. They learn to consider their own risks in their play and to keep themselves safe. Children follow instructions well and tidy away when they finish playing. They mix happily and easily with adults and their peers. Children build strong bonds with the staff who care for them. They learn to nurture and care for the newborn lambs and other animals on the farm, which the nursery is based in. This contributes to children's well-being and personal development.

Parents strongly recommend the nursery. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have maintained close contact with families. They have provided a range of activities to engage and support children. This helped children to continue their learning at home.

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

• The managers are positive role models to staff and parents. They are dedicated and caring in providing a curriculum and ethos, which helps children to learn and develop. Staff constantly aim to improve opportunities for the children in their care. They regularly reflect on their practice. Staff gather the views of children and parents to plan effectively for the nursery's further development. They make good use of research and training to develop the nursery's curriculum to meet the needs of all children.
• Staff know children well. They use carefully considered induction procedures to help children to settle smoothly into the pre-school's routines. Staff gather detailed information from parents to ensure that they know children's individual interests and needs. This helps them to plan securely for children's future learning. Staff work together during weekly planning sessions and training days. They use this time to make sure that activities support children of all ages and abilities to make progress in their learning.
• Overall, staff support children's communication skills well. They create many opportunities for children to talk together about their interests and activities. For example, children name insects and creatures they find in the nursery's bug hotels and pond. They discuss the flavours of ice creams in their muddy kitchen.
• However, staff do not consistently extend and develop children's vocabulary. For example, they sometimes leave children playing too long without adult intervention to help them to build on their thinking and language skills.
• Children make strong progress in their physical development. They develop an awareness of following a healthy lifestyle. Children are physically challenged when they climb trees, create their own swings and crawl through tunnels. They enjoy being outdoors in all weathers. Staff provide guidance and support to parents. For example, they make suggestions about varied and healthy meals, and to encourage their children to try different foods.
• Staff strongly promote children's enjoyment of stories and books. They provide many books that children can easily access throughout the nursery grounds. Children learn a wide range of songs and rhymes. This prepares them well for listening to the carefully chosen and well-read stories that staff introduce them to. Staff help children to become familiar with books through enjoyable activities. For instance, children go on bear hunts and 'Gruffalo' trails in the grounds, and take part in role play and puppet shows. These strategies help children to enjoy and recall the plots of stories, and appreciate the rhythm and language structure.
• Parents are fully appreciative of the support their children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive and the progress that they make. They welcomed the imaginative steps staff deployed to keep children involved during the pandemic. For example, staff created videos for children to join in during lockdown periods, such as acting out the story of 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff' with their families.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to build on children's language and vocabulary further during their play and activities.