Madresfield Early Years Centre

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children who attend this family-orientated nursery thrive. They are extremely confident, highly motivated and eager to learn. They benefit from an exciting and stimulating range of activities, that enrich their learning experiences and help them to develop a deep-rooted thirst for knowledge.

Children receive a warm welcome from enthusiastic staff as they arrive at nursery. This helps them to feel safe and settle quickly. Children's behaviour is exemplary.

They forge positive relationships with staff and their friends and actively involve them in their play. Older children discuss ideas and work together to solve... problems. Younger children demonstrate their feeling of security as they seek out staff for a reassuring cuddle.

Children develop an early love for reading as they listen intently to a story about a caterpillar who is hungry. Staff skilfully captivate children's interest and extend their learning, as they provide opportunities for children to smell and taste the fruits they have seen in the book. Older children learn that the same traditional story can be written in different ways.

They look at several books depicting the same story and compare how the story is written and illustrated. Children learn how to keep themselves safe through the broad range of experiences they have. Older children know that they must hold a staff member's hand when stepping inside the parameter around a fire pit, where they toast marshmallows.

Children learn that they must wear protective gloves and goggles before they pick up wood or use real tools, such as a saw, a hammer or a drill.

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

The nursery benefits from a well-qualified and experienced leadership team. The provider is highly motivated, inspirational and a credit to the childcare profession.

She is passionate about the children and continually strives to drive improvement and provide them with the very best start.Staff are highly valued, and their professional development is given top priority. They are empowered to take on additional roles and receive extensive support to encourage them to take responsibility for their own learning.

They attend copious amounts of training to enhance their already superb practice.Leaders give high regard to the mental health and well-being of all staff. There is a dedicated well-being coordinator in place, who is committed to supporting staff.

She provides them with individual packs which contain motivational postcards and ideas to help them recognise their own strengths. She sets up training links for staff to access videos about resilience and mindfulness.Staff have a comprehensive knowledge of what they want children to learn.

The curriculum is individualised to support each child and provide them with a wealth of imaginative and well-planned experiences. Consequently, children flourish in their development and make excellent progress.Children delight as they travel on a wagonette into the local environment.

They know that the difference between a wagonette and a bus is the way the seats face. Children are enthralled as they look at maps to help them gain an understanding of the local area and recognise familiar landmarks, such as the spire of the church. Staff show them how to use a compass to detect the direction they are travelling.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive extraordinary support. Managers recruit staff with specialist knowledge and skills to meet children's individual needs. As a result, children form secure and caring relationships, which help them to settle quickly and exceed their potential.

The nursery is situated on a working farm. Consequently, children gain an in-depth knowledge about the world they live in, which encourages them to care for the environment. They learn to care for a pony as they brush her mane and hold her reign as they walk her around the garden.

Babies eagerly stand at the window to watch the cows and wave as the tractor goes by.Children develop extensive communication and language skills. Staff continuously model new words to children, such as subitise, which helps them to rapidly build their breadth of vocabulary and knowledge of what words mean.

They learn the sounds of letters and can recognise sounds and letters individually and in other words.Children gain remarkable physical skills. They confidently use equipment, such as a rope swing, a ladder and a trampette.

They know that when they jump off a table onto the mat, they swing arms to gain 'propulsion', bend their knees as they land and tuck their heads in to complete the sequence with a forward roll.Partnerships with parents are extremely successful. Staff exchange information with parents about children's learning and provide ideas and resources to support parents to continue children's learning at home.

Parents report that their children make remarkable progress in their learning.Staff have recently introduced a positive eating plan. Children undertake trips to the farm to see where food comes from.

They collect milk from the cows, churn their own butter and make their own bread.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff receive regular safeguarding training from the inspiring management team.

They demonstrate a secure knowledge of safeguarding issues and know the procedures to follow to report their concerns to managers and other professionals, including if they have concerns about the conduct of another adult. Managers follow rigorous recruitment and vetting procedures to assess the suitability of staff before they begin working with children. They provide staff with thorough induction training to help them to fully understand their roles and responsibilities.

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