Meadow View

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children receive a warm welcome on arrival from the kind and nurturing staff, who know them well. All children, including those new to the nursery and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, build close relationships with their key person. Children show they are happy, safe and secure.

For example, younger babies contentedly snuggle into staff when feeding. Older children affectionately sit close to staff while reading books and singing favourite songs. Young children seek and receive comfort, reassurance and loving care.

Children are familiar with the nursery rules. They are well behaved, manage t...heir feelings effectively and are considerate to one another.Children relish opportunities to play outdoors in the unique play areas on offer.

They particularly enjoy visits to the woodland area. Children listen to staff's instructions to keep themselves safe as they leave the nursery. They hold their partner's hand as they follow the bear paw prints on the ground.

As they walk, children see familiar members of the community garden and say hello as they pass. On arrival, children explain the safety rules with exact precision. Staff encourage conversations about the natural environment and how to look after it.

Children sing favourite songs and then search for the bears who are hidden in trees, on stumps and in bushes. They work together to problem solve to achieve their goal and they enthusiastically count how many they have as they retrieve them. Children learn to take risks as they play and enjoy being physically active.

For example, children confidently scramble up rope ladders and tree stumps. They take turns using rope swings and learn to move themselves back and forth.Indoors, children delight in testing out their early design skills.

For example, they use natural materials to create a straw house and outdoors children confidently build towers to see how high they can reach. Children engage well in purposeful play. They are confident talkers and engage well in conversations with visiting adults.

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

The nursery benefits from a dedicated and experienced manager. She has a good overview of the curriculum and knows exactly what they want children to learn. The manager and staff work well together as a team to move the nursery forward and implement continuous improvement.

Staff say that they feel valued, supported and included. The manager observes and feeds back to staff, enabling them to reflect on their performance. This is revisited during supervision meetings.

Staff professional development opportunities are supported through online platforms.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive good support.Managers and staff quickly identify gaps in children's learning and implement strategies swiftly to support individual needs.

They access external services, such as speech and language support and other health professionals, to initiate targeted support. This helps to narrow any gaps in children's development.Staff work well in partnership with parents.

Parents comment positively on staff's ongoing communication and how they keep them updated about their child's development and learning. Parents speak highly of the nursery and praise the care that their children receive. They particularly mention the fantastic outdoor provision and how children access this in all weathers.

In the main, children are encouraged to be independent in managing their self-care needs and learning the importance of good hygiene. However, there are opportunities not fully utilised by staff to support children to build on their independence skills even further. For example, tissues are not accessible to children.

Therefore, they are not learning some basic hygiene skills, such as wiping their own nose or how to do this for themselves. In addition, occasionally, some children are not supported to learn how to fasten up their coats and not given the opportunity to try to do this by themselves.Staff promote the benefits of eating healthy food and having plenty of fresh air and exercise.

This helps children understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Staff embed this learning during activities. For example, while they make modelling dough, they teach children how some foods are not good for them and not good for their teeth.

Children follow recipes and competently measure out the ingredients. They enjoy these experiences and giggle with delight when the mixture sticks to their hands. Staff manage to incorporate a number of learning areas into activities and constantly embed this learning to ensure children have a good grasp before moving them on.

Overall, staff are effective in supporting children's speaking and listening skills well. For example, they provide a narrative of what the children are doing and sensitively engage them in conversations during their play. However, occasionally, staff do not challenge children's thinking to help encourage them to solve problems and come up with their own ideas for themselves.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff have a good awareness of their roles and responsibilities in protecting children and keeping them safe. Staff access training that helps to develop a broad knowledge of safeguarding matters.

They know how, when and who to refer concerns to or seek advice in line with their local child protection procedures. Staff have regular opportunities to discuss child protection issues and wider aspects of safeguarding, such as radicalisation and extremist views. Managers follow robust recruitment and induction processes that help to ensure the suitability of adults working with children.

Staff ensure that the premises are safe for children. For example, the fence panels damaged due to the recent bad weather have been replaced and the area is risk assessed.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen staff's practice in creating more opportunities to challenge children's thinking, and encourage children to solve problems and come up with their own ideas for themselves nextend opportunities to help children improve their independence skills.