Chiddingfold Village Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

The exceedingly passionate and highly driven manager and her staff team successfully create an atmosphere that celebrates each child as an individual. This helps children to develop a true sense of what makes them unique. Staff ensure they understand the individual needs of each child.

As a result, children feel extremely safe and secure in the setting.Children demonstrate a strong desire to explore and learn. They approach their play with extremely high levels of determination and confidence.

For example, older children eagerly accept the challenge to make dough into a variety of different-sized cupcakes. Staff... expertly support children's experiences as they make links between play at home and school, using the vast array of utensils.Staff speak with immense pride about the wonderful achievements of all children.

They have exceptionally high expectations of what children can achieve. Children are very well behaved and display excellent manners and attitudes to their learning. Staff encourage children to talk about their feelings and this helps them to understand the impact that their behaviour choices can have on others.

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

Staff meticulously plan learning experiences for individual children, considering how to build on children's prior knowledge in each area of learning. For example, story time is used highly successfully to build upon previous experiences of exploring senses and encouraging children to engage with books. Children become highly engaged in the story as they link their knowledge of camouflage to the character hiding in the book.

Children become confident and fluent users of language. Staff support language development with exceptional skill. They ensure that all interactions are of a high quality, modelling language with precision and clarity.

Where children's language skills are lower than expected, staff apply highly effective action to close gaps in progress. They make sure that children can communicate with high levels of confidence.Staff organise the environment extremely well so that children are inspired to play with a wide range of toys and resources.

Children show exceptional focus and concentration. For instance, younger children watch how older children use screws, bolts and loose parts. Then they persevere until they too can twist the bolts with Allen keys.

Children learn to care for each other and develop excellent social skills. Staff teach children to manage their own conflict and resolve difficult situations for themselves. Older children help each other eagerly.

They work together as a team to follow the rules and to make sure everyone is equally involved.Across the nursery, staff deliver consistent messages to help children understand how to make healthy eating choices. Parents have worked with the nursery to ensure that all children are provided with a rich variety of healthy food in their lunch box.

Staff understand exceptionally well the levels of development that children go through before they can become writers. They provide rich and meaningful activities for children to build up their physical strength and hand control. Children become highly motivated to make marks in materials such as flour and water.

They make impressive progress in making purposeful marks, such as letters in their name and a variety of familiar shapes.Staff feel wonderfully supported by the manager and chair of the committee. They receive excellent support to improve their already strong practice.

For instance, staff have recently undertaken training that has led to an even stronger focus being placed on children's emotional well-being. Staff now use a wider range of creative resources to help children to further explore and discuss their feelings and the impact of their actions.Parents are extremely positive about the care and consideration staff show towards their children.

Children are extremely happy and settled. They form secure attachments with staff and are extremely well prepared for their next steps in learning and eventual move on to school.Staff establish highly successful relationships with other professionals, including the local school.

For example, the children attend joint theatre visits at the school, which in turn promotes the transition to Reception with ease.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager prioritises children's welfare over everything.

Staff provide great support to families and aim to prevent safeguarding issues by doing this. The manager and her deputy ensure that staff keep their safeguarding knowledge up to date. For instance, staff complete training and discuss safeguarding issues in staff meetings.

Staff have an excellent understanding of how to deal with concerns about children's welfare. They have an exceptional understanding of the signs and symptoms which may indicate that children are at risk of harm. The manager follows robust recruitment procedures to help ensure that staff are suitable for the role.