The Woodyard Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The Woodyard Nursery is an awe-inspiring outdoor nursery where all children flourish. The nursery is a safe, well-organised place for children to learn. Children thrive here because staff care about them and provide stimulating learning experiences for them to explore. For example, children explore the woodland for animal homes and then create their own using clay and natural resources. Staff want the very best for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Staff give the development of children's communication and language a very high priority. Opportunities for talking and listening are weaved through the curriculum, and children enjoy joining in with stories and songs. Staff use props and photos to spark conversations and introduce new words. For example, they talk about what seeds need to grow.

Children behave exceptionally well in this calm environment. They enjoy warm, supportive relationships with the staff and with one another. Staff are wonderful role models for children and make the most of every opportunity to promote children's personal and social skills. For example, they use phrases like 'good teamwork' when two children push the heavy wheelbarrow up a steep slope. Children are incredibly keen to work together.

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

• Children's communication and language develop quickly. They show a deep love of reading. They listen attentively to stories being read aloud and are completely engrossed. Children get opportunities to use props for storytelling, for example a picnic basket and blanket to take outdoors. They enjoy telling stories, showing they have understood the conventions of the language of stories. For example, children retell familiar stories, repeating phrases and running their fingers along the text as they read.
• Children gain a deep understanding of why it is important to lead a healthy lifestyle in this outdoor setting. They enjoy a range of healthy snacks, including apples picked straight from the tree. At lunchtime, the children talked about the vegetables they were eating. Children spend time planting, growing, harvesting and cooking the fruit and vegetables. All these rich experiences give staff excellent opportunities to talk about healthy foods.
• Partnerships with parents are extremely strong. Staff get to know each child and their family individually so that everyone feels that they belong. Parents are full of praise for the nursery and understand that the range of experiences their children have ensure they are ready for their next stage. They attend regular parents' evenings with the children and enjoy time learning together in this special place. One parent summed up the views of many, saying, 'I wish I could attend too.'
• Dedicated and passionate staff want every child to enjoy learning and achieve well. The nursery is thoughtfully organised to promote children's learning, language and independence. Consequently, children flourish. They are curious, highly motivated and genuinely eager to explore and learn. For example, new children are encouraged and supported to climb up to the slide using the tree roots as a ladder. This teaches children to manage risks and keep themselves safe as they explore the forest.
• Leaders have expert knowledge on how children learn and use this to sequence the curriculum effectively to create a deep and meaningful understanding of life cycles. For example, children visit the owl's nest to count the eggs each year and watch the combine harvester in the field as it harvests the crops.
• The nursery provides many opportunities that support children's wider development and knowledge of the world beyond the forest. Children made a scarecrow for the town's 'Scarecrow Safari' to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee. Recently, they were visited by the neighbours, who joined them in a fire circle and a lunch prepared by the children which was cooked on the wood burner in the yurt. Staff also provide opportunities for families from other countries to share food and music with the children.
• This family-run nursery is led and managed exceptionally well. The manager has a clear and precise vision for the nursery and strives for excellence throughout.