Stretton Lodge Day Nursery & Forest School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle quickly into the nursery and enthusiastically explore the interesting toys and resources that capture their curiosity. They happily separate from their parents and excitedly greet staff and their friends. Children build positive bonds with their key person and staff, which helps children to feel safe and secure. Children receive cuddles and reassurance from the attentive staff when needed. Staff act as excellent role models. They provide children with an abundance of encouragement and praise for their efforts, which helps to boost children's self-esteem and sense of accomplishment. Children's behaviour is good. They share, take turns and are kind to their peers and staff.

Children learn through their individual interests. For example, children develop a keen interest in tractors during their play. Staff invite a local farmer to bring his tractor to the nursery and children have opportunities to see the tractor in action. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress from their starting points. They develop an understanding of other cultures, faiths and beliefs and the world around them.

Children take part in daily forest school sessions. They help staff to plant and harvest fruit and vegetables, which helps children to learn how things grow and where food comes from. They learn to assess and manage risks, for instance, when they learn to climb trees and toast marshmallows safely on the campfire. Children have wonderful opportunities to learn about nature and life cycles. They excitedly watch duck eggs hatch into ducklings and help to prepare the ducklings' food.

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

• The new manager is passionate and dedicated in her role and works closely with the staff team. She monitors the quality of teaching well. She provides staff with professional development opportunities and mentoring to raise practice to an even higher standard. The manager has a clear vision for the nursery, which she shares with staff and involves them in the journey to improve. She values her staff and prioritises their mental health and well-being. The manager and staff work well together as a team, providing a happy and welcoming environment for children to develop and thrive.
• The manager and staff build effective partnerships with parents. Staff share information with parents both verbally and via an online learning journey. They keep parents informed about the progress their children make and how to extend their learning at home. Parents speak highly about the manager and staff. They say that their children love attending the nursery and that staff place children at the heart of everything they do.
• Staff support babies well and the atmosphere in the room is tranquil and calm.
• Staff engage babies in meaningful experiences and interact purposefully to help them develop their social, emotional and communication skills. Babies have fun as they play with balloons. Staff skilfully introduce new words, such as 'up' and 'down', as they gently pat balloons into the air. Babies display their enjoyment as they giggle and babble as they play.
• Staff weave some additional learning into children's play. They offer a narrative and suggest ideas on how to keep their play going. For example, children have fun rolling cars down a ramp. Staff introduce skittles into their play and children have fun as they use the cars to knock down the skittles. While staff are skilled at extending some areas of children's learning, they are less confident in teaching older children early mathematical concepts, such as problem-solving and making predictions.
• Staff support children to develop some independence skills. Older children serve their own food at mealtimes and pour their own drinks. Staff encourage older babies to feed themselves and use a damp flannel to clean their hands and face after eating. Children make independent choices about what they would like to play with. They help themselves to resources and engage in purposeful play. However, on occasion, staff do not encourage children to tidy away resources when they have finished playing, to help children to develop a sense of responsibility and care for their environment and equipment.
• The manager has developed good links with staff at the local schools that children are due to attend to ensure continuity in their learning and smooth transitions. For example, the manager invites teachers from the Reception class into the nursery and shares relevant information.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on children's independence skills and encourage children to take responsibility and care for their environment and equipment, including tidying away toys and resources they are no longer using
• strengthen the curriculum for mathematics and develop staff's confidence in challenging older children's mathematical understanding as they play, to help children to make even more progress in this area of learning.