The Vineyard Organic Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and keen learners in this stimulating nursery. Staff take great care to ensure that babies settle happily and build close relationships with children.

They have high expectations of children and appreciate each child as an individual. Children look forward to mealtimes where they eat freshly prepared, very wholesome organic food that they enjoy thoroughly. Staff manage children's behaviour in positive ways.

They treat children respectfully and support them to reach a fair resolution. Staff remind children of the value of being kind to each other and to share and take turns. The curriculum is enrichin...g and well balanced and all children make good progress.

Staff support children's awareness and understanding of difference. They do this effectively, for instance through informative discussion about special events such as Hanukkah and Chinese New Year. Children enjoy playing instruments from around the world, such as maracas and bongos.

Staff provide good physical development opportunities for children. All children take part in a weekly session run by a sports coach where they practise balancing and jumping and develop good physical coordination skills. Babies enjoy crawling through tunnels and climbing over and under soft-play cushions.

Staff help children to gain a good understanding of the world. They take children to stables to visit horses and teach them about how they live. Staff teach children how things grow, for instance by planting vegetables with children in the garden.

Overall, all children make good progress in their development.

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

Staff teach children good mathematical skills. For instance, children compare heights and use language such as 'tall' and 'short'.

Children count confidently and some older children can add numbers. Staff sing simple number songs with younger children. Children gain good mathematical skills.

Children enjoy a wide variety of imaginative, stimulating activities. For instance, children create their own collage work and models using masking tape, recycled materials, twigs and tissue paper. They happily draw and paint pictures using chalk, crayons and paint and develop good creative skills.

Children behave well and learn how to do things for themselves. Older children eagerly help to set the table at lunchtime, serve themselves and pour their own drinks. Younger children learn to feed themselves, supported by staff, and all children help to tidy up toys.

Children learn to take turns as they eagerly mix ingredients together during cooking activities and learn to share well.Staff work well with parents and give them regular updates on children's progress. They invite parents to read stories with children to support children's learning.

Staff work effectively with the local children's centre, which offers parents places on workshops to support children's development.The manager monitors and supports staff well. She spends time in group rooms modelling good practice and observes staff to promote best outcomes for children.

The manager meets each staff member regularly to review work and offers support where needed. She is keen for staff to develop their skills and knowledge. For example, the manager encourages staff to visit other early years settings to observe, learn about and share good practice.

The manager works hard to bring about improvements in the nursery and has set clear goals to continue this. For instance, she plans to organise more outings for children to enrich their learning further.Staff give children's safety high priority.

The manager ensures that staff are deployed well and ratios are maintained at all times. Staff check all parts of the nursery, indoors and outdoors, to reduce the risks of hazards. The manager has a comprehensive recruitment procedure that involves thorough background checks on staff to keep children safe.

Overall, children gain good communication, language and literacy skills. Staff read stories to children and teach them about story structure. They sing action songs and rhymes where children join in as they learn the words.

However, staff do not teach more ambitious vocabulary to older children to enhance their language skills.At times, some staff do not enable children to solve problems for themselves. For instance, during a baking activity, staff add flour to a sticky dough without asking children what could be added to make the mixture drier.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nintroduce ambitious new vocabulary to older children to enhance their language skills further consider ways to strengthen the implementation of the curriculum by enabling children to develop their problem-solving skills further.