James Farm Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled in the warm, welcoming and calm nursery. They confidently separate from their parents and carers and are keen to attend. Staff know children very well and know the unique personalities of each child, which helps foster strong attachments. Children are highly motivated to learn and persist with activities they enjoy. They have tremendous fun in the well-equipped outdoor area that gives them plenty of opportunities to develop their physical skills. They enjoy and engage for long periods as they explore sand, mud and water activities.

Staff effectively support children's language development by creating a language-rich environment. Staff skilfully introduce new vocabulary through play and meaningful two-way conversations. For example, younger children confidently share their favourite stories with visitors and repeat familiar phrases, such as 'witch' telling others that witches are 'scary'. Meanwhile, older children eagerly talk about their experiences, such as visiting Cornwall. Staff use some signing to support children to understand what is happening next to help them feel safe and secure. Children develop strong language skills from an early age.

Overall, staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They remind babies to 'be gentle', when they play with friends. Children are polite, kind and follow the nursery's rules and routines. However, at times, when children experience a difficult situation, such as waiting for their turn, staff do not always provide consistent guidance to help them to understand how their behaviour affects others. Despite this,, children have built some good friendships and are seen to adore each other's company. For example, they happily cuddle one another as they chat to their friends during group time.

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

• Leaders and staff are committed to providing high-quality care and early years education. The curriculum is thoughtfully structured, with a clear focus on developing children's social, emotional, communication and physical skills. For example, younger children smile with joy as they dig in the mud using shovels and spoons with friends. Staff skilfully adapt their teaching to support children's next steps in learning. For instance, they expertly guide older children in cutting their fruit while offering additional help to those who need it. Children make good progress in their developmental milestones.
• Staff provide a wealth of indoor and outdoor experiences that provide children with regular opportunities to be physically active in play. For example, children have good fun in the garden daily, where they practise coordination and balancing as they crawl under slides and climb up steps. Staff encourage children to persevere, praising babies for their effort as they begin to walk. This positive reinforcement motivates children to try new things and build their confidence.
• Staff engage children in meaningful discussions and offer them a wide range of experiences to emphasise the importance of making healthy choices. Staff plan activities, such as visits from dentists and sharing toothbrushing information for parents, to teach children about oral health. Mealtimes are a sociable occasion, where staff sit with the children and discuss which foods are good or not so good for their bodies, encouraging healthy choices. However, at times, staff do not organise mealtime routines effectively, which increases children's waiting times. Some children lose focus and become distracted.
• Leaders and managers implement a thorough system that includes mentoring, coaching and observing interactions, which helps them reflect on the next steps for improvements. They have a strong professional development programme, which helps to improve teaching over time. For example, staff recently attended training around physical development. As a result, the nursery has introduced more opportunities for children to practise their large-muscle movements, such as offering climbing frames and slides indoors.
• Staff listen intently to children and give them time to speak and share how they feel. Children are developing a solid foundation in understanding and reflecting on their emotions, which helps them to self-regulate. For example, staff quickly respond when younger children squeal in frustration, acknowledging that they are 'frustrated' before distracting them to something else. However, although staff address unwanted behaviour, some staff do not always help children to understand the potential impact of their actions on others. This does not help children to learn greater empathy for others.
• Leaders and staff have strong parent partnerships. Parents appreciate the regular feedback they receive about their children's learning and development, which helps them support their children's learning at home. For example, parents grow sunflowers at home and send regular photos to the nursery, which staff share with older children. Parents highly praise the staff for having close bonds with their children, which has helped them to settle quickly at nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop behaviour management strategies further to support children to understand how their behaviour impacts on others
• consider the organisation of mealtimes to minimise waiting times.