Madresfield Early Years Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy the time they spend at this welcoming and friendly nursery. Staff are kind, caring and respond well to children's individual needs. New children are provided with gradual settling-in sessions to help them become familiar with their new surroundings. Staff know children well and use their knowledge to help children form secure bonds and attachments with them. Staff make good use of songs and rhymes to help promote children's emerging communication and language skills. They engage children of all ages in frequent and meaningful conversations and discussions. This helps children to become confident communicators.

Children develop their physical skills. Babies are encouraged to learn new skills, such as feeding themselves with a spoon. Toddlers enjoy learning to negotiate space riding on wheeled toys in the garden. Pre-school children are encouraged to join in with indoor gym sessions learning to negotiate the large balancing and climbing equipment. Children behave well because staff offer them gentle and age-appropriate reminders. All children make consistently good progress in their development. They are developing the skills they need to help prepare them for their next stage in learning, including their eventual move to school.

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

• The quality of teaching is good. Leaders and staff plan a broad and balanced curriculum that is based on children's current interests and individual needs. Staff involve themselves in children's play experiences. This helps children remain engaged and motivated. However, at times staff do not always provide enough challenge during some adult-led activities to help children progress even further in their learning.
• Staff promote children's emerging literacy skills in a range of different ways. For example, staff read favourite stories to children, encouraging them to join in with familiar phrases. They read stories with an excited tone that helps to engage children. Staff share story sacks between nursery and home, extending children's enjoyment of stories read during the day.
• Staff help children to learn the rules of good behaviour. They remind children to use 'kind hands' when playing with their friends. Children respond well to staff, such as following requests to help to tidy away the toys before getting ready for mealtimes.
• Overall, care practices are good. Staff provide children with comfortable and suitable sleeping facilities. Children are monitored regularly while sleeping to ensure they are safe. Children benefit from daily opportunities to be physically active both indoors and outside. Staff provide children with healthy and nutritious meals and snacks. However, on some occasions staff do not always teach children the importance of following good hand washing routines.
• Leaders and staff strive to ensure children with special educational needs and/or disabilities get the support and help they need. They work effectively with parents and ensure timely referrals are made to outside agencies to ensure children are supported to make the progress they are capable of.
• Parents speak positively about the nursery and staff. They value the information they receive on the online app and verbally when they collect their children. Parents express how happy and settled their children are attending. They like that the nursery is situated on a working farm where their children can benefit from time spent outdoors learning about the natural environment. They say that they would recommend the nursery to others.
• Staff benefit from regular supervisions sessions with leaders. They receive ongoing support and mentoring to establish professional development opportunities and individual targets. Staff express how well supported they feel in their roles.
• Leaders and staff ensure the children are cared for in a safe environment. They ensure children are supervised well. Staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities for keeping children safe. They ensure procedures, such as following the safe use of mobile phones are followed routinely. Leaders follow safer recruitment procedures to ensure staff are checked for their suitability to work with children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• plan adult-led activities more carefully so that they provide more challenge for children
• support staff to help children learn the importance of following good hand hygiene routines and why these are important.