Napley Lodge Farm Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff welcome children and support them to settle quickly to an array of activities. The wonderful surroundings that children see every day really sparks their interests. Staff know how to facilitate children's learning as they talk to them from a young age about the animals and transport they can see around them on the farm. Children love to name the animals and younger children excitedly make the different animal sounds. Staff talk to children about the big tractor, and this inspires children to recall what they have learned about different transport. Children are encouraged to respect their environment and to keep themselves safe as they play in the outdoor spaces and visit the woodland area. They enjoy planting vegetables and are beginning to learn about where our food source comes from.

Staff promote equality and diversity well. They share books and stories with positive images to help all children understand families and communities different to their own. Staff have high expectations for all children. They identify and provide targeted support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This helps to close gaps in their learning quickly.

Staff act as positive role models; they use positive language and praise and encourage children to have a go. This helps all children to persist at tasks and they smile happily as they achieve. Children develop firm friendships and show respect for one another. They play incredibly well together. Babies and toddlers receive lots of cuddles and reassurance and they are supported to self-soothe. This helps them to develop strong attachments with key staff, who take the time to get to know them well.

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

• Leaders and managers have taken swift and effective action since the last inspection. They are continually looking to improve practice and have worked extremely hard to recruit staff to ensure they meet requirements for staffing arrangements. Staff comment that their well-being is considered and they feel very well supported.
• All staff receive regular supervision and they are provided with regular training, mentoring and coaching. However, the newest staff, including apprentices, would benefit from more highly focused training in order to further develop their teaching skills.
• Children's communication and language is supported well. Staff imitate babies' babbles. They pronounce words correctly and in every room they eagerly read stories and sing songs and rhymes. Children show the progress they have made as they learn new words, demonstrate their understanding, make their needs known and confidently talk to each other, staff and visitors. All children listen well and respond to staff and their peers. They show great achievement when they complete tasks.
• Children have ample opportunities to be physically active. Staff support them to take risks and challenges as they play. Consequently, children show perseverance as they balance along beams, climb on the climbing structures and negotiate space as they ride on bikes and scooters. Babies are encouraged to reach for things to aid their core strength and support their early walking. Toddlers enjoy chasing the bubbles and excitedly pop them.
• Staff know the children well, and observe and assess them to identify where to focus their learning next. This results in most staff planning a range of experiences and focusing their teaching to build on children's prior learning. For example, staff in the pre-school room plan a range of activities around the minibeast theme and target their teaching to develop language, creative skills, and hand-to-eye coordination. However, some staff, particularly those working with younger children, do not fully consider children's current abilities when they plan activities. On occasions, younger children do not fully consolidate some aspects of their learning in readiness for their transition into the next room.
• Staff have built positive relationships with parents, and they value their views. They gain detailed information when children first start, so that they can build a picture of the child and their family. Staff regularly communicate with parents and share information about the progress their children make. All parents are familiar with their child's key person, and they say how happy they are with the setting. They are provided with written reports and information is shared to support learning at home.
• Staff promote children's care practices and independence well. Babies and young children benefit from interactive nappy changing times, as staff talk and sing to them. As children master toilet training, they develop independence with using the toilet and follow good hygiene routines. Pre-school children are very independent. They develop a good awareness of taking care of their own personal needs with using the toilet, dressing, and undressing. At mealtimes, the progress children make throughout the nursery can be seen and pre-school children confidently prepare snacks and scrape their plates when they have finished.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide highly focused and well-targeted training to further support new staff, including those completing their apprenticeships, to elevate the quality of teaching
• embed the curriculum, particularly for children in the younger rooms, and support staff to plan well-sequenced experiences that further consolidate and build on children's knowledge ahead of the next stage of their learning.