Farlington Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Managers are very ambitious and have high expectations for what all children can achieve. They are passionate about giving children a rich set of experiences and work closely with their dedicated and enthusiastic staff.

Together, they create a highly engaging environment that focuses on inspiring children's creativity and imagination. Children of all ages are confident, motivated and inquisitive learners. They delight in exploring and investigating the wide range of natural resources available and leading their own experiences.

For example, older children excitedly cooked pretend meals using real fruit and vegetables. ...Staff extended their experiences skilfully, introducing knives which children used very carefully and safely to chop the vegetables, bringing their role play to life.Staff are extremely caring, nurturing and attentive to children's individual needs.

They foster a highly positive atmosphere, where all children feel loved and cherished. The strong and trusting bonds staff build with children help them to feel particularly happy, safe and secure, and children thoroughly enjoy their time at nursery. Overall, staff give children valuable experiences to support their understanding and respect for the world around them.

For example, children take a big part in caring for the nursery pet guinea pigs and rabbits and regularly visit elderly residents at a local retirement home.

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

The managers are very engaging and work closely with their team to reflect on practice, introduce new ideas and continuously improve the nursery. After much research, they have recently stripped back their planning and focused more on open-ended resources, play and activities.

Children thrive on the responsibility and opportunities to decide what they want to do, which helps them to engage busily throughout the day. For example, after their afternoon sleep, two-year-old children excitedly said they wanted 'Old MacDonald', and staff promptly set up an exciting farmyard scene for them to explore.Although the managers support staff very well overall, there is more monitoring and support needed to consistently achieve the highest standards of learning across the nursery.

For example, there is scope for some staff to extend children's learning and language development more consistently. Despite this, staff are strong teachers and know the children in great depth. They confidently discuss what children know and can do and think very carefully about how they can move them on in their learning.

For instance, children very much enjoyed thinking of their own stories, which they excitedly made by drawing pictures and copying some simple words onto notepads.Staff are strong and influential role models and provide children with clear messages to support their good behaviour. Children learn to treat each other with great respect and are consistently kind and considerate.

For example, they actively asked others to join in with making obstacle courses in the garden. Staff warmly praise children's efforts and good behaviour and celebrate their achievements with great enthusiasm. Subsequently, children develop high levels of self-esteem and have confidence in their own abilities.

There is a strong focus on outdoor play and children delight in exploring the spacious and adventurous garden. Children of all ages are active and demonstrate strong physical skills, for instance when carefully walking along balance beams and riding bicycles. Babies walk from an early age and show increasing confidence as they climb steps safely.

They settle quickly into nursery life, helped by the extremely warm and cosy environments. They enjoy sensory experiences, such as exploring flour with their whole bodies.The environments for each nursery age group are closely linked, which helps children move through the nursery smoothly.

Staff work hard to make children feel as settled and secure as possible and create an atmosphere where children's unique personalities are truly celebrated. Parents very much value this and comment on how much their children love attending and how helpful home learning packs are for them. Partnerships with parents are a strength of the nursery and a key focus for staff and leaders.

Children engage very well with the dynamic curriculum on offer. They quickly gain the skills needed for the next stage in their education. Older children gain strong skills in preparation for early writing and express their many views eloquently and confidently.

Younger children join in eagerly with group songs and excitedly explore musical instruments and the sounds they can make. However, there is not yet a strong focus on promoting children's understanding of people and cultures beyond their own to fully support their awareness of diversity.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The managers give safeguarding high priority and there is a strong shared approach to keeping children safe. They have focused on giving children and their parents thorough guidance and support to help manage children's online safety. All staff receive regular and thorough training and fully understand how to identify the signs that a child's welfare may be at risk.

They know who to contact for further advice and how to escalate any such concerns. The managers encourage regular discussion about wider safeguarding issues, such as extreme views and behaviours.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: monitor and support staff practice more rigorously to help raise the standard of teaching to the highest levels consistently focus more on giving children a broad set of experiences that fully promote their understanding of people, families and communities beyond their own.