Muddy Boots Childcare

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

All children have great fun at Muddy Boots Childcare.

They are welcomed into a warm, nurturing nursery where they can learn and grow emotionally and socially.Staff use their thorough knowledge of children's development to plan experiences that are right for every child. Staff have high expectations of children.

They take every opportunity to celebrate children's learning. Children of all ages play exceptionally well together. Older children show great care to younger ones.

They happily share toys and wait their turn. Children behave impeccably. The use of the safari tent and extensive outside areas is e...xtremely well planned.

Activities capture children's imagination and are linked closely to their interests and ideas. Older children spend a large proportion of their time outdoors. They gain a deep appreciation of nature and the environment.

Children thrive in the exciting and challenging outdoor areas. They learn what they can accomplish by themselves and develop a can-do attitude. Babies and young children receive excellent support.

They happily explore and experiment with the wide range of stimulating resources. Experienced and highly attentive staff encourage them to chatter and to be inquisitive. The leader, manager and staff are passionate about providing the best quality service to children and their families.

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

Leaders, managers and staff work extremely well together. They continually evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching and provide exceptional support to each other. There is a strong team ethos and a shared vision to give children the skills they require to succeed in life.

Staff enthusiastically encourage children to enjoy outdoor play and develop physical skills and confidence. For example, children climb the large tractor tyres. They challenge themselves to jump off.

For the first jump, staff hold children's hand. As children get braver, they excitedly jump on their own.Children listen attentively to stories.

They keenly join in with rhyming words and happily answer questions posed by staff. Staff use a wide range of vocal tones, constantly model words and phonetic sounds of letters, and repeat sentences back to children, replacing mistakes with corrections. As a result, children's literacy and speaking skills are promoted exceptionally well.

Children have wonderful opportunities to learn in a natural environment. For example, they are very keen to make more birdfeeders to take home. Staff skilfully question children about different bird species, testing and building on their knowledge.

Children are totally engrossed as they carefully spread honey onto a cardboard tube. They persevere to ensure the birdseed covers the entire sticky tube. Children show great pride with their finished design.

The leader is exceptionally passionate about helping the lives of others and promoting emotional awareness. She is an outstanding role model for staff, parents and children. She supports local charities that help families and plans regular events to help parents to socialise.

Staff make excellent use of a variety of materials from businesses and industries that have chosen to recycle their offcuts and surplus to design, deliver and manage the nursery's curriculum effectively and with impact.Children enthusiastically learn mathematical skills through their play. For example, they count twigs, stones and spoons of mud as they make potions.

They make spaceships with large cardboard boxes and work out which are the heaviest and lightest and the tallest and smallest. Staff skilfully support children to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding of number.Children benefit from regular visits to the nearby arboretum.

They learn about road safety and how to look after themselves. Children demonstrate they know and understand about seasonal changes for trees, shrubs and wildlife. They excitedly recall picking the ripe blackberries in autumn and seeing different-coloured butterflies in spring.

Parent partnerships are a huge strength within the nursery. Parents receive excellent information about the benefits of reading to their children regularly and how to support pre-writing skills at home. Parents and carers enjoy celebrating special occasions with children at the nursery.

They complete regular questionnaires and comment very highly about the dedicated staff team and the exceptional progress children make.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff know how to identify and report concerns they may have about children's welfare.

They understand their responsibilities to keep children safe and confidently follow the robust policies and procedures in place. The manager ensures that all staff attend regular training. She keeps their skills current through discussions at staff meetings and regular questionnaires.

Robust staff recruitment and induction procedures are followed. Staff are working towards receiving a special endorsement about their first-aid processes from a well-known trust. Children learn how to keep themselves safe in a variety of different situations and how to manage their own risk.