Olive Barn Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in the welcoming, child-friendly nursery. Staff invest time getting to know the children and their family before they attend and tailor settling-in sessions to meet the needs of the child. Therefore, children happily arrive with enthusiasm to start their day. They leave their parents with ease and quickly engage in their play. There is a strong ethos of supporting children's learning through play, while following children's interests to support their development. Quality resources are easily accessible on low level shelving for children to select and initiate their own play. Children demonstrate they are confident and secure and have established warm and trusting bonds with their key person. The staff fully consider and respect children's individuality and all speak knowledgeably about the children in their care.

Staff are kind and speak to children with respect. Children understand the staff's expectations, and their behaviour is good. There is a strong focus on helping children to regulate their emotions through resources and activities provided. They are beginning to learn the language they need to express their feelings. Children have made friendships and are generally kind to one another. They demonstrate they are good communicators and confidently engage visitors in conversation, asking lots of questions.

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

• Children are offered a broad curriculum. Staff plan according to children's individual interests and what they need to learn next, promoting the skills they need to be independent learners. However, leaders have not considered how to ensure the curriculum offers enough challenge for the most able children to build on what they already know and extend their knowledge.
• Parents speak positively about all aspects of the nursery. Many comment on the professional, warm and dedicated staff. Parents say that their children settle quickly, are happy to attend, and make good progress. They say they appreciate the effective communication. Parents say they are included in all decisions made regarding their child's experience at nursery.
• Children relish their time outdoors. They make decisions where they want to play and can flow freely from indoors to the garden. Consideration is given to the curriculum outdoors, to ensure activities continue to support all areas of learning. Children work well together, for example, they fill saucepans with water, using a water butt. They negotiate how they will carry the heavy pot back to the mud kitchen, where they make potions. Babies concentrate for some time as they happily paint, using pots of water and large brushes.
• A thorough recruitment and induction process mean staff are suitable for their roles. Staff's own welfare is fully considered and supported and the team comment that they feel valued and happy in their role. The management are reflective and are committed to continually develop the nursery. Systems are in place to monitor staff practice and support their professional development through training opportunities.
• Children's physical skills and spatial awareness are developing well. For example, children use large planks and tubing to make obstacle courses. They show curiosity as they work out how to roll tubing down slides they make. They persevere until they successfully complete the task and demonstrate a sense of pride in their achievement.
• Mathematical language is used throughout all activities. Children learn about number and shapes through their play. They excitedly engage in interactive stories, and group sessions and talk about the 'rhombus' and 'parallelogram' shapes they see.
• The session runs smoothly throughout the morning, and children are engrossed in their play. However, the organisation of mealtimes means staff are sometimes busy with other tasks. Therefore, they are not able to focus on supporting the children to prepare for lunch or a smooth transition for sleep time.
• The environment is carefully considered to ensure it promotes learning. For example, cosy areas create homely and calm spaces for children to relax, self-regulate, or enjoy books. Recent improvements to support children's independence, such as installation of low-level sinks, enables children to wash their hands independently. However, this means the area used for nappy changing does not always offer enough privacy when children are being changed.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider how to ensure the curriculum offers enough challenge for the most able children, so that it consistently builds on what they already know and can do
• improve the organisation of mealtimes to ensure that all children are fully engaged at these times
• improve nappy changing areas to ensure children's dignity at all times.