Oakfield Nursery School Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children experience the awe and wonder of the world at this nursery. They arrive to an exciting, stimulating and carefully thought-out environment. Their key person welcomes them and shows genuine interest in their lives. Consequently, they make fabulous bonds with them. Staff ensure those that need extra support get it and thrive. Additionally, children that have specific talents develop their skills even further. All children are nurtured and cherished as individuals. Their behaviour is excellent, and they show genuine respect and kindness for each other and their surroundings. They are eager to have a go and try out new things with great enthusiasm.

Children have exceptional communication and literacy skills. Staff offer children questions and new language in play and activities. They encourage children to think deeply and recall knowledge. Babies show great understanding and interest in looking at books. They point at pictures, babble and delight as they turn the pages. Two-year-olds confidently explain that they can 'build a bridge for water to run under it.' Three-year-olds begin to recognise initial sounds of words and can match these to letters. The oldest children moving on to school have secure early writing and basic reading skills. They eagerly practise writing during play. Children show they are immensely proud of themselves. This means they have great confidence in their abilities. These excellent attitudes help them to make rapid progress in their learning.

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

• The long-standing team have developed a rich and sequenced curriculum. From two-year-olds acquiring basic skills, such as juicing an orange, to four-year-olds learning to be beekeepers, children experience new learning in practical ways. Staff always consider how their teaching broadens children's thinking.
• Staff know children exceptionally well. Even staff that are not key persons are aware of children's individual talents and what they need to learn next. Those working with babies and toddlers work in pairs to maintain continuity of care for children at all times.
• Staff routinely identify what makes children unique and the special talents they have. Following a child telling their key person about a book about Anne Frank, they research further, using the internet and a globe. They find out more about this child in history and acknowledge how different their life is to hers. Staff guide older children to find out new knowledge for themselves. This helps them to be critical and independent learners.
• Children lead healthy lifestyles and develop their physical skills exceptionally well. They access challenging climbing frames and practise using real tools doing woodwork. This helps them to master their large- and small-muscle movements.
• Following a child telling their key person that they listen to Michael Jackson music at home, children learn dance moves to his songs. Children look after their bodies by brushing their teeth and hair daily. They know to keep hydrated with water and explain that sun cream is 'very important to have on their face'.
• Nurturing staff are meticulous in following babies' personal-care routines. Staff place great focus on providing babies with one-to-one warm interactions. This helps them to settle and enjoy their surroundings very quickly. Babies explore low-level water trays with mint leaves and oranges. Staff encourage them to smell, touch and enjoy new sensations.
• Learning about respect for living things and nature is a core feature of the curriculum. From a young age, children practise holding a tortoise ornament to help them to learn to have gentle hands when ready to hold the real animals. Children fully immerse themselves in outdoor learning during frequent visits to local woods and the beach. Upon their return to the nursery, they access a magnificent space called 'nature nursery'. There they learn even more about their discoveries. This successfully supports children to make connections between their prior experiences and new learning.
• Children learn mathematics through play. Mathematical concepts and language are skilfully interwoven throughout all activities. Two-year-olds are guided to look at the measurements on the jug that they fill with their squeezed orange juice. They count out 10 pumps as they retrieve water from the well to fill up the water tray. Older children have many opportunities to embed their knowledge of number in preparation for future learning.
• Parents have precise knowledge of what their children are working on and how they can provide input at home. They appreciate the workshops organised to help them to understand children's early reading and writing skills.
• Children, parents and staff views are routinely incorporated into improvement plans. This ensures children's experiences are continually of the highest quality. Staff access training that empowers them in their roles. Many of the staff are already graduates; however, they continually develop new knowledge. This helps their already innovative teaching to be even better. Staff 'love working at Oakfield' and are highly motivated.