Park Farm Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, settled and carefree at this bespoke nursery. They develop secure relationships with staff, especially with their key person. Where children are new to the nursery, staff are quick to provide cuddles and reassurance. This helps children to feel safe and secure, which helps them to settle quickly.

Leaders plan a curriculum that is focused on providing children with experiences they would not normally have. Children learn about nature and harvest as they explore natural resources. For example, toddlers crunch the autumn leaves in their hands and explore the different sounds and textures. Older children show excellent concentration skills as they print with a variety of vegetables. Staff encourage children to recall the names of the vegetables. Children eagerly name leeks and parsnips. They show great delight as they begin to mix different coloured paint, creating different patterns and effects.

Children's behaviour is good. Staff are kind and attentive, and they speak respectfully to children. They are calm, nurturing and reassuring role models. Staff have high expectations for children and praise them for their efforts. Staff implement suitable strategies for children who may need additional support to focus. For example, some children require reminders about sitting for group activities. This helps children to learn what type of behaviour is expected.

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

• The leaders and staff team have good relationships with families and promote effective partnership working. For instance, staff provide a wide range of information to families through parents' evenings, verbal discussions and an online platform. This helps parents to feel included in their children's learning. Parents say they are thrilled with the 'fantastic', 'supportive' and 'dedicated' staff.
• Staff promote children's physical development well. Children access outdoor play regularly and benefit from time spent outside. Staff support children to learn how to ride bikes. Older children skilfully navigate the well-resourced outdoor area, climbing on large wooden apparatus. Younger children learn to climb and slide confidently. Babies are encouraged to crawl and practise their walking. This helps to develop their large-muscle skills.
• The setting's curriculum is well developed and understood by staff. They have clear intentions for the overall learning that children will achieve while attending. Staff gather useful information from parents when children first start to help them know about children's prior learning and experiences. However, when planning learning opportunities, some staff do not provide enough focus on individual children's next steps for learning. This does not enable every child to consistently make the progress that they are capable of.
• The leadership team is ambitious and knowledgeable. Staff report good levels of well-being. They say they are happy and feel supported in their role. Performance management processes are in place and used by leaders to identify some relevant training opportunities for staff. However, targeted coaching and monitoring of staff's practice to ensure their teaching skills support children's learning at every opportunity are not yet embedded in practice.
• Staff consistently promote children's independence and self-care. Young children put on their own shoes and coats before going outside. Staff support children to feed themselves at lunch, and older children begin to self-serve. Occasionally, toddlers wait a long time during the lunchtime routine as staff are busy elsewhere. This results in some children struggling with the length of time they are sat down as staff's positive interactions with them are reduced.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and inclusive practice are embedded in the curriculum. Children with SEND benefit from individual learning plans that are shared with all staff. In addition, staff work closely with external partners to ensure that children who need additional support make good progress towards their individual targets.
• Children are well behaved, caring and considerate. They listen, follow instructions and are encouraged to share and take turns. Staff give children regular praise and clear explanations about their behaviour, such as 'good sharing'. This helps to develop children's confidence and self-esteem.
• Staff prioritise promoting children's communication and language skills. Babies have plenty of time to vocalise. Staff regularly share books and sing with them. Babies and toddlers sing 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm'. Children are introduced to many new words to enrich their vocabulary. For instance, staff name musical instruments such as 'xylophone', helping to develop children's vocabulary.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• clarify how staff will ensure planned activities remain focused on what they want children to learn next
• strengthen opportunities for training, coaching and monitoring of individual staff's teaching skills to improve their knowledge of how to consistently maximise children's learning experiences
• review and develop mealtime arrangements for the toddler room, so that staff consistently support children's learning through high-quality interactions.