The Enchanted Garden Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff welcome the children and their families as they arrive at nursery. They offer warm cuddles and reassurance when children need additional time to settle. This helps children's well-being and builds their confidence. Children form strong emotional bonds with staff and they demonstrate a sense of belonging in the nursery.

Staff provide children with experiences in the environment to capture their interest and imagination. Children make choices and lead their play while staff provide teaching moments to help them to develop further. For example, staff help older children to use their physical skills, rolling tyres and lifting wood to create a den. They explain to children how to improve their balancing and jumping, praising them for demonstrating their growing strength and skills. Children keenly explore the natural world around them. They confidently tell visitors which trees are 'evergreen' and which are 'deciduous' and what this means. Children are curious and inquisitive as they play and show that they are motivated to learn. They are well prepared for their next stage of learning.

Children follow instructions and know what staff expect of them, including being responsible for the environment. They show care and consideration as they chop vegetables to feed the nursery animals. They know they need to be quiet and calm to not scare the hens when they collect the eggs. Children remind their friends what staff have taught them about keeping out of the path of the tyre swings and why they wash their hands before eating lunch.

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

• Staff focus on developing children's communication skills. They speak slowly and clearly, using simple words and phrases to support children's understanding. They describe what children are doing and ask lots of questions. However, staff do not always ask open-ended questions or give children enough time to think about what they are being asked to build their communication skills even further.
• Children learn to take care of themselves and keep safe in the sun. They understand the importance of wearing sun hats and of keeping hydrated when outdoors. Children are provided with opportunities for water play to keep cool, and they master the skill of filling syringes to squirt the water. They concentrate and giggle when they complete the task.
• Mealtimes are delightful experiences for the children. Children sit with their siblings and friends to enjoy a healthy, nutritious and home-cooked meal using lots of produce that is grown in the nursery allotment. Staff support children of all ages to develop their independence with self-help skills. Babies learn to feed themselves with a spoon. Younger children progress to a fork and self-serve their drinks. Older children continue to develop these skills and keenly serve themselves and others during mealtimes.
• The leadership team works closely with other professionals to ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) progress well. They use specialised targeted plans to help children with SEND to make the progress that they are capable of. The effective use of additional funding enables children to access the high-quality resources and activities in place.
• Parents value the uniqueness of this setting. They say that their children talk about adventures with excitement and refer to the staff team as 'The Enchanted Tribe'. Parents say their children are happy and settled and make good progress. They appreciate the daily feedback and regular parents' meetings and how supportive and welcoming the team is. Parents also appreciate the support given to them and their children in preparation for starting school.
• The leadership team knows the staff well because it works closely alongside them. A strong focus is placed on staff well-being. Staff report high levels of satisfaction in their roles. They welcome open team discussions and they are provided with ongoing professional development opportunities, such as supervision sessions and training. Staff attend mandatory training, such as safeguarding and paediatric first aid, and keep their knowledge and skills up to date. However, the coaching and monitoring of staff are not fully embedded. The leadership team does not target gaps in staff teaching practice to raise the quality of teaching to an even higher level.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• give children more time to think and respond to questions to encourage them to think of solutions and share their own thoughts and ideas
• continue to monitor and focus on strengthening staff practice to raise the quality of teaching practice to even higher levels.