Oak Wood Nursery and Forest School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop lovely friendships with each other and staff. When children arrive, the other children run to greet them at the door, giving them a very warm welcome. Staff thoughtfully create a calm, nurturing nursery for children to enjoy. The environment, both indoors and outdoors, is well presented at children's level so that they can self-select. Babies have their own room, including an outdoor area. Children arrive ready to learn, and they are enthusiastic and keen to explore. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour, and children behave well.

The outdoor area is a significant strength. Children demonstrate high levels of engagement in their learning, eager to explore the natural environment. They show curiosity as they search for insects, and staff support this interest effectively by promptly providing resources, such as magnifying glasses, to enhance their investigations.

Staff place great importance on listening to children, giving them all a voice. They courteously ask permission before changing children and involve them in decisions. Staff actively seek children's opinions. For example, children devise the rules for the sensory space, deciding how many children can safely be in the room at one time. Staff continuously praise children's efforts, supporting their developing self-esteem.

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

• The provider previously notified Ofsted about an incident where a child was left unsupervised in the garden for a short time. This means that the provider met their legal responsibility to notify Ofsted of significant events. The provider has taken suitable action to put this right. Leaders have reviewed the risk assessment. They have ensured that the supervision of children remains a priority for staff and have strengthened their procedures on carrying out a headcount of children. This promotes children's safety when moving around the nursery.
• Staff plan an exciting curriculum with a focus on promoting independence, building resilience and developing language and communication. It is evident in practice that attention is given to enabling children to be independent through a range of daily tasks, such as the responsibility of labelling and pegging up their paintings to dry. Staff know their key children exceptionally well and input into the weekly plan. They regularly check children's development and use this information to ensure they are challenged appropriately. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress.
• Children are developing their language and communication. Staff extend children's vocabulary through stories, discussions and regular songs, especially during routines such as handwashing. The children engage well, and even the youngest join in with the tunes and actions of familiar songs. Children really enjoy listening to stories, and story sacks are used well to engage them further. However, at times, the background noise distracts children during group time, which limits their engagement. Furthermore, staff do not consistently make the most of every opportunity to extend children's language further through the conversations they have.
• Children's imagination and creativity are very much encouraged by staff, who love to join in and extend children's play. For example, staff pretend to have magic wands and wave sticks around, discussing what magic can do.
• Mathematics is evident in children's play. Staff encourage children to add items and compare sizes. For example, children show a particular interest in different length tubes. They focus their efforts to find objects that will fit through the tubes and experiment with which goes faster, working well together.
• The outdoor areas are set up to offer children a huge array of learning and play opportunities, which enable children to develop a good range of physical skills and be active. Children enjoy running down the hill and show whole-body control as they stop quickly at the bottom. They enjoy planting and taking care of vegetables, using tools such as a rake. Children attend forest schools every week, broadening their outdoor experiences further.
• Leaders implement rigorous systems to monitor and support staff's ongoing professional development. Regular supervision meetings are used effectively to identify training needs and provide guidance, resulting in a highly skilled and motivated team. This commitment to continuous improvement ensures that the quality of care and education remains high across the provision.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• minimise noise levels when interacting with children so they can fully focus on their learning
• support staff to consistently make the most of every opportunity to extend children's language.