The Barn Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The providers and staff place children at the heart of their highly ambitious curriculum. Staff's knowledge and dedication ensure that teaching practice is continuously outstanding. Children rapidly develop excellent levels of confidence and resilience as well as exceptional communication skills. Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of their key children and skilfully tailor the curriculum to ensure that they continually build on what children know and need to learn next. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make exceptional progress from their starting points. Children display high levels of confidence and resilience as they learn how to safely use carpentry tools and glue guns to create intricate wooden structures. They talk confidently about what they are doing, showing immense pride in their achievements.

Children's behaviour is excellent. For example, when staff want to gain the attention of the babies, they ask them to 'freeze', demonstrating this with arms raised in the air. All the babies immediately stop what they are doing, and promptly raise their arms. This shows their excellent awareness of the routine and their understanding of staff's expectations. Children arrive eager to start their day and happily bid their parents goodbye. They settle quickly and show extremely high levels of emotional well-being and security.

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

• Children of all ages are eager and highly motivated to learn. Older children demonstrate their 'can-do' attitudes and persevere when faced with challenges. For example, they keep adding large pebbles to metal buckets suspended from beams in the roof to balance them. Staff encourage children to try different combinations of pebbles in a bid to add equal weight in each bucket.
• Babies confidently tackle challenges that help them to develop skills for their future. For example, they try to put on their own socks, gently supported by staff who know when to step back and let them try for themselves and when to offer help. This helps babies to develop resilience and have confidence in their own abilities.
• Partnerships with parents and carers are excellent. Parents spoken to during the inspection and those who sent in written testimonials were full of praise for the opportunities their children have in their learning. Parents comment on the noticeable increase in their children's confidence and self-esteem that helps to support their emotional well-being.
• The providers are passionate and highly driven. They have set themselves and staff exceptionally high standards. Staff make the most of all opportunities to further extend their training and practice. Regular team meetings and discussions enable staff to share new learning and ideas. This helps to ensure that children receive excellent care and an abundance of opportunities that support their learning and development. Staff share how valued they feel and the many positive ways the providers show their appreciation and support their mental health. This helps to promote excellent levels of staff morale and means that staff turnover is exceptionally low.
• The providers have worked exceptionally hard to ensure that any children with SEND receive the very best support. Careful recording and planning help staff and parents to document children's individual journeys, including the areas they need additional help in. Consequently, support and funding are sought in a timely manner to help children to begin to close gaps in their learning.
• Staff provide a wealth of experiences for children to develop secure skills to support their future learning. They carefully sequence steps to ensure that children build firm foundations first, before tackling more complex tasks. For example, children learn how to climb a small stepladder and how to use cutting equipment before putting these skills into practice. Consequently, children confidently take on tasks, assessing the possible risks to keep themselves and others safe.
• Children enjoy playing outside in the fresh air. Staff ensure that children wear protective clothing, such as waterproof trousers and wellington boots, to enable children, including babies, to explore the natural world as they wish. For example, older children delight in finding new ways to climb up and slide down an inviting mud hill. Babies and toddlers explore water, bark and sand in trays outside that excite and motivate them to find new ways to splash and move the materials about.