Farley Sparsholt Outdoor Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy their time at the nursery.

They are confident and happy as they leave their parents and seek out opportunities to play. Staff know the children well. Staff greet children warmly and help them to feel safe and secure.

Staff recognise when younger children need extra support in settling, and use their key-person approach well. Children's confidence and self-esteem blossom as staff offer the emotional support they need. Children develop good social skills.

They are polite, kind and courteous with adults and their friends. Staff encourage children to reflect on the choices they make. Older children ...learn to value and respect the differing needs of their peers.

Staff have high expectations for children. They create a curriculum that motivates and challenges children's learning. For instance, when pre-school children excitedly search for earthworms, staff help them to measure and compare their sizes.

Children use books to find out how big worms can grow. They quickly identify that the worms they have found are 'much bigger'. Children enjoy the outdoor environment and staff encourage children's exploration well.

Toddlers explore the large field and they find different types of insects, flowers and grasses. This helps to ignite children's curiosity and their appreciation of the wonders of nature.

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

Leaders, the new manager, and her staff have worked hard to address the weaknesses identified at the last inspection.

The manager leads the team well. She is highly reflective in her accurate evaluation of the nursery. Her vision for improvement has been successfully shared with staff, who have the same drive for positive change.

This has resulted in significant improvements to the nursery to create and maintain a safe environment. Children benefit from good-quality care and learning experiences.Staff say that they feel valued.

They benefit from regular supervisions, meetings, and training, which help to embed the nursery ethos and curriculum. The manager is proactive in putting effective support in place for the development of her staff and ensures that they have manageable workloads.The manager and her team have worked hard to implement an effective curriculum.

Staff understand the intent for children's learning and plan activities with children's next steps in mind. They regularly check the progress that children make and target any areas where children need additional support. This helps to ensure that all children make good progress from their starting points.

Staff use opportunities to model language for children in their play. For instance, as staff share picture books with babies, they teach them about new animal names, such as the lion and giraffe. They sound out new words clearly for children to hear.

Staff support older children's vocabulary skills well. For example, as pre-school children find millipedes, staff teach them about the spiral shape that they roll into. However, sometimes, staff ask children questions but do not give them enough time to think through and share their ideas, to further their learning.

Staff support children to be independent. They recognise and value the importance of enabling children to manage age-appropriate routines in readiness for future learning, including starting school. Pre-school children confidently manage their own personal needs, such as washing their hands and tidying away after mealtimes.

Toddlers learn to ask staff for help when they need support with more-challenging activities. Babies successfully feed themselves using spoons, as staff support them well.Partnerships with parents are good.

Parents know key staff and receive regular updates about children's daily activities and care routines. Staff have recently introduced a book sharing library. Parents say that they enjoy choosing favourite stories with their children to support and continue children's learning at home.

However, where children have shared care with other early years settings, staff are yet to establish effective partnership working, in order to support a shared approach to learning and care.Children behave well. They listen to staff and take account of what is being asked of them.

For instance, children help to tidy away toys as they get ready for mealtimes. Children play cooperatively with their friends, share and take turns with resources, and listen to their ideas as they play. Staff praise children's kindness, which helps them to develop high self-esteem.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide children with more time to respond to questions and think through their ideas, to extend their learning as fully as possible build links with the other settings that children attend to help promote continuity in their care and learning.