Mudchute Farm Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and secure in the nursery. They are confident and have developed a true sense of belonging. Children have access to an environment that is exceptionally well-thought-out and the activities and resources are interesting and inviting. For example, children join in games where they take turns to throw beanbags into a target. They follow instructions, jumping on the spot, hopping, and making funny faces. They take turns and cheer on their friends. Children negotiate, aim, and skilfully throw balls through the basketball hoop. They are learning to be supportive of their friends and develop their balance and coordination skills.

Children make their own choices. They choose what they want to play with and where. Young children play with a cornflour and water mixture. They move their fingers through the liquid, making marks and patterns. Children use their imagination as they play with play dough. They mould the dough into worms and then shorten the worms to create candles for their pretend birthday cakes. Children follow good hygiene procedures. They know to wash their hands after playing outside and after going to the toilet. This promotes their health and well-being.

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

• Leaders and staff have a good understanding of what they want children to learn. They know how to sequence the curriculum so that children are ready for the next stage of learning. For example, staff introduce children to ice play. Children add water to the ice and use spoons to chip it away as it melts. Staff are preparing children for future learning.
• Most staff encourage children to be independent and make their own choices. Children select their own snacks and drinks. They serve their lunch and choose what activities they want to take part in. However, in the toddler room, staff are not always consistent in their approach and do not always provide enough challenge to more able children. Furthermore, there are times when staff do not always make use of opportunities to promote children's independence. This impacts on the learning opportunities available.
• Staff support children's language development. For example, when playing with and examining shells that look the same, staff explain that these are 'similar'. They reinforce this learning with further questioning and examples. Staff discuss the sea animals and what they eat. They explain that they eat 'plankton' and live at the bottom of the ocean.
• Children have access to books and stories. Staff read the story about a hungry caterpillar. They select the food the caterpillar eats from the basket of props. Children carefully count each item of food, matching the totals to the number in the story. They are being introduced to numbers and mathematical concepts.
• Staff are provided with a range of training opportunities to help them to support children's learning. They state that they feel well supported and that the leadership team has an 'open-door' policy. Staff receive regular supervisions and state that they work well as a team.
• Children are confident and eager to play and learn. They are aware of the rules and boundaries of the setting. Children are respectful and supportive of their friends. They say 'please' and 'thank you', and talk to their friends and staff respectfully. Staff provide children with signs, symbols and 'feeling boxes', so that they can express their emotions and feelings.
• Staff follow children's interests. They support children and prepare them for their transition to school. For example, children play with blocks building giant towers. They then arrange the blocks to create the letters in their name. Children work collaboratively to achieve their desired goal.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents are kept updated with what their children have been learning throughout the day. They are extremely complimentary of the staff. Staff work closely with parents and adapt settling-in procedures to support individual children's needs. This promotes children's well-being.
• Children are taught how to care for their environment and animals. They take regular trips to see the animals on the farm. For example, they recently watched the baby lambs being born. Children learn about different cultures. They find out about the nationalities of the children that attend and celebrate different festivals and cultures. Children learn about nature and the world around them.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to make more effective use of opportunities to extend and challenge children's learning
• develop staff's understanding of how to promote younger children's independence.