Manor Farm Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff nurture children's emotional development very well at this caring nursery. They provide support and cuddles to help children feel comfortable and content. Staff are respectful and caring towards children. For example, they ask young children's permission before wiping their nose. This helps to build children's resilience, and as a result, children are confident to explore, play and learn. Older children demonstrate this confidence as they access resources and play appropriately with the toys. Additionally, they remind their friends what they have learned, such as when they need to speak kindly to each other.

Staff provide interesting and exciting activities that capture children's curiosity. Children have a range of opportunities to express their creativity and use their imagination, for example during sensory activities. Toddlers excitedly try to rescue toy dinosaurs stuck in ice. They use small hammers to chip away at the blocks of ice. Older children tell visitors how they have created a 'rainbow pigeon'. They concentrate using pencils and felt-tip pens to create pictures that have meaning to them. This also helps children to develop early writing skills.

Staff expertly engage young children to play with their peers. They encourage children to cover their eyes and help them to count accurately while their friends hide toys in sand. Children smile with delight as they find the toys, then eagerly take their turn to hide or count. This helps children to practise taking turns in a fun and playful way.

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

• Managers have developed an ambitious curriculum to support children's development. They have high expectations for children's learning and of staff to deliver good-quality experiences. Staff report that managers support them personally and professionally well. They feel valued and are motivated to do their best for the children and nursery. Managers support staff to obtain qualifications and training. They regularly observe staff to guide their teaching skills. This helps to continuously develop staff knowledge and practice that benefits the children.
• Staff ask a range of questions to help children think about a variety of responses. Managers guide staff to wait while children think about their answers. They ensure there is guidance available for staff to understand speech development of children. Staff spend a lot of time talking with children about their play and adding some vocabulary to extend younger children's language. However, professional development linked to the communication and language curriculum is not always sharply and cohesively targeted to help develop staff's skills even further. For example, staff do not always add interesting vocabulary in the same way for older children, especially those going to school.
• Parents are very positive about the nursery. They praise staff for providing the care and nurture children need. They receive regular updates about their child's development. Staff work in partnership with parents to help them support children's learning at home. For instance, they discuss toilet training, and parents borrow books from the nursery lending library. This helps to complement children's learning.
• Provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is good. Staff work with other professionals to support children and families. They share information with other settings that children attend and implement strategies effectively. They use a sensory room to help children feel safe and calm. Staff make adjustments to help this group of children be ready to access future education and make progress from their starting points.
• Staff help to develop children's independence throughout the nursery. They help encourage babies to use their cutlery by themselves when eating meals. Toddlers put on their own bibs, and older children successfully serve themselves their meals. This sequencing of the curriculum helps children to build effectively on what they already know and can do.
• Staff know the children well and have good knowledge of child development. This enables them to plan and provide experiences that help children make good progress. They complete regular assessments and, as a result, pinpoint suitable and challenging next steps in learning.
• Children's physical development is a strong focus. Staff support babies who crawl and toddle outdoors over different surfaces to help build core strength. Toddlers repeatedly fill and pour jugs of water. This helps to develop hand-eye coordination. Older children balance, climb and walk up and down stairs safely.
• Older children demonstrate their readiness for school. They are sociable with each other and play cooperatively. For instance, after making toy wands, they cast 'spells' turning each other into different animals. They also practise dressing up in uniform and pack bags of things they will need to take to school. This helps to prepare them for future educational experiences.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• target professional development more sharply to help staff develop their teaching skills further, with particular reference to the communication and language curriculum for older children.