Meaford Fields Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a nurturing environment that helps children to settle quickly. Children develop meaningful relationships with staff, who are kind and caring. Effective settling-in procedures support children to feel safe and secure. Children know the routines and behave well. Staff are good role models and provide children with clear expectations for their behaviour. For instance, staff praise children when they follow instructions, such as sitting nicely at the table during mealtimes. Staff support children's personal development in many ways. For example, babies are encouraged to feed themselves when ready. Older children develop some independence, wiping their own noses and putting on their coats for outdoor play.

Staff plan activities that engage children and develop their listening skills, concentration, and confidence. Young children enjoy filling and emptying containers while playing with sand. Older children enjoy role play with staff, using a toy shop and dressing up. They use their imaginations and develop their awareness of the world about them. Babies move around competently in the well-organised learning areas, exploring toys and building on their curiosity. They smile and laugh as they play peekaboo with staff. Staff encourage children to develop positive attitudes to their learning and they focus on building secure bonds with them.

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

• The manager has devised a well-sequenced curriculum that helps children to develop a good range of skills to support their future learning. The ongoing monitoring of children's progress from their starting points helps each child to make good progress. Staff are fully aware of the intent for the curriculum, and this is well implemented. Gaps in children's development are quickly identified and staff know how to make referrals if additional support is needed.
• The staff plan activities to support children's interests and learning. The routine and structure of the day enables children to spend a significant amount of time outdoors to explore, investigate and learn through play. Children are active learners, and they benefit from activities designed to support their physical development well. Older children develop balance and core strength, for example, as they play on the climbing equipment or use brushes dipped in water to create patterns. However, there are fewer opportunities for babies to explore and develop their own play in the outdoor environment.
• Key persons observe and assess children's development effectively. They know children well and use their knowledge of children's interests to tailor the curriculum to meet their individual needs. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff understand the importance of early identification, intervention and working with external agencies.
• Staff provide opportunities for children to learn about nature, growth and life cycles. For instance, they investigate the life cycle of a plant, and grow a variety of herbs. Staff support children's fine motor skills as they provide pencils and chalks for them to make marks. These opportunities support children to build their muscles and develop coordination. Children show good levels of engagement in their play and happily make independent choices.
• Staff regularly sing songs and nursery rhymes with children to develop their language skills. Children develop a love of books as they listen to familiar stories. Staff read with enthusiasm, encouraging children to join in with words and phrases. However, some staff miss opportunities to develop meaningful conversations with children.
• Partnerships with parents are well established. Parents speak warmly of the friendly staff team. Staff use the online system and communicate with parents daily about what their child is doing at the nursery. Although staff share information with parents in a range of ways, they are yet to consistently share enough information about children's progress to fully support parents to extend and continue their child's learning at home.
• The manager is reflective in the ongoing evaluation of the setting. There is a strong desire to continue to improve. The manager supports the development of staff and ensures staff have manageable workloads. Staff receive support through regular supervision meetings and access training to develop their practice.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend opportunities to enable babies to explore and develop their own play and ideas in the outdoor environment
• support staff to have high-quality interactions with children, so that they consistently promote children's speech and language development
• provide parents with more information about the progress children are making in their learning.