Little Latham Farmers

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The committed and passionate manager is a very capable leader and takes the happiness and well-being of her staff very seriously. She promotes high standards and supports staff well through regular supervision meetings and training. The manager has high expectations for children's learning and their readiness for school.

Children are confident and happy in this warm and welcoming nursery. Staff interact sensitively with children and provide a good level of reassurance to them. This supports their emotional well-being successfully.

Staff know children well. They confidently talk about children's unique characteristics a...nd how they plan to support their next steps in learning. Consequently, children's individual needs are well met and they flourish.

Parents explain how the electronic system that the nursery uses allows them to regularly contribute to their children's learning. They comment that they see their children's achievements instantly. They are exceptionally happy with the care and education their children receive.

They describe the manager and her staff as 'first class'. Staff are good role models and speak calmly and kindly to children, giving them abundant amounts of positive praise. Children demonstrate their understanding of the 'golden rules' in the nursery and confidently share these with their friends at group time.

Children's behaviour is good.

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

The motivated manager strives to offer a high-quality service. Self-evaluation and action plans help to target and address areas for development.

One recent improvement has been to include a new entrance for parents into the baby room. The manager has plans to complete training that will help her to promote outdoor learning even further.Children's health and well-being are a high priority for staff.

A range of snacks and meals is provided that promotes a healthy lifestyle. Children develop confidence in their own abilities as they serve their own food at mealtimes and clean up after themselves. Children demonstrate a positive understanding of the importance of following good personal hygiene routines.

Staff skilfully support children's mathematical development. For instance, they encourage children to count the number of points on the star cutter and talk about the lengths of the stalks on the leaves.On the whole, staff promote children's communication and language skills effectively.

They read stories to children, sing rhymes and introduce children to new words, such as 'squidgy' to describe the texture of the dough. However, on occasions, staff working in the pre-school room are over enthusiastic in their questioning and do not always give children the time they need to think and respond.The established key-person system ensures staff have a good knowledge about their key children.

Staff obtain meaningful information from parents about their children when they start. This significantly helps children to settle easily and to develop secure attachments with warm, caring staff. Staff working with babies are particularly attentive and offer lots of reassuring cuddles and kind, gentle words.

Young children and babies enjoy a varied range of sensory activities. They use tools to manipulate dough and enjoy exploring the texture of the oats. Babies delight in exploring natural resources, such as cones and the texture of different fabric.

Staff work in partnership with other early years settings that children currently attend to enhance and complement children's learning further. When children move on to school, staff share relevant information. This helps to provide continuity in children's learning and care.

Overall, staff have a good understanding of how children learn. They offer a range of activities and experiences that ignite children's interest for learning. However, sometimes, staff do not ensure that whole-group activities consistently match the developmental stage of the youngest children.

Children have opportunities to develop their large-muscle skills and engage in energetic play in the well-resourced outdoor play area. Children have regular opportunities to go for walks in the local community and around the farm on which the nursery is situated. This supports their growing awareness of the world around them.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Safeguarding is effective. Robust recruitment procedures are in place to ensure staff are suitable.

Staff confidently identify signs of abuse and know how to report concerns about children's welfare. They receive regular training to ensure their knowledge remains up to date. The manager organises staff effectively to supervise children and staff ratios are well maintained.

Suitable security systems are in place that include the signing in of any visitors and coded access into the nursery. Staff record any accidents to children appropriately and regularly risk assess the premises, minimising any risks identified.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nenhance questioning skills and give children the time they need to think about and verbalise their response review group-time activities so they are precisely matched to the developmental stage of the youngest children.