Brook Farm Children’s Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are confident and settled in this welcoming nursery. Staff know the children well and are always on hand to provide cuddles and comfort.

Staff help the children learn about different cultures in a meaningful way. They design activities based around children's heritage and holiday experiences. For example, children create unique works of art to depict specific plants.

Children recall that the flower is a thistle and know it comes from Scotland. At other times, staff gather meaningful information from parents to celebrate significant cultural events, which helps children to learn about different cultures.Childre...n delight in exploring the natural environment, supported by attentive staff.

Children recall the important facts, taught to them by staff, about how plants and vegetables grow. They identify the peas they planted and know when berries are ready to be picked. They correctly identify herbs, such as mint and sage, from their scent, and they shout, 'We are digging for treasure', as they unearth new potatoes to be cooked in the nursery kitchen.

Children show their comfort with, and respect for, the natural world as they gently pick up spiders, watching them move across their hands. Others identify the sound of a grasshopper and search to locate it in the garden.

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

Staff ensure that the nursery is a clean and well-maintained environment for children.

They talk to children about the importance of aspects of personal care, such as washing hands before eating and good oral hygiene. The food provided is healthy and nutritious, with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. This contributes to children's good health.

However, staff do not always model good practice themselves. For example, during the inspection, staff were observed to wipe children's noses and move on to another task without washing their own hands. This poses a potential risk of cross-infection to children.

Leaders are able to articulate the intended curriculum for the nursery and what they hope children will learn. However, they have more to do in supporting the staff team to enhance the quality of its interactions with children in order to strengthen the quality of education provided. For example, there are instances where learning experiences do not always provide sufficient challenge for children.

Parents talk positively about their children's experiences at nursery. The talk about the respectful relationships with their child's key person and the useful information they receive to support progress. They praise the personalisation of what children learn.

Parents are clear about the difference the nursery has made to their children, especially the social skills they develop, their improved confidence, their love of the natural world, and their enjoyment of being active outdoors.Staff compliment the leadership team for supporting their well-being. They explain that the manageable workload ensures they have sufficient time to support the children in their care, strengthening the quality of care they provide.

They explain that leaders are always on hand to support them, both in and out of work.Children are actively engaged in their learning throughout the day, as activities draw and maintain their interests. Staff follow these interests, introducing new vocabulary.

For example, when children pour water on a slope, they imagine it to be a river they have created. Staff introduce words such as 'flow' to expand children's vocabulary. This contributes to the good development of children's communication and language skills.

Staff act as good role models for children in relation to their use of good manners and their consideration for others. As a result, children are consistently kind towards each other. When children need to take turns during activities, they patiently wait, saying, 'Can I now?', when they would like their opportunity to join in.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.During the inspection, it was confirmed that a child had previously sustained an injury at the nursery, requiring hospital treatment. This was as a result of weaknesses in risk assessment procedures at the time of the incident.

Leaders have since taken action to deploy staff more effectively and strengthen risk assessments to limit the likelihood of recurrence. Leaders, therefore, now ensure that the nursery premises is always a safe and secure environment for children. Staff know the action to take should they be worried about a child, and they are alert to indicators of abuse.

They are equally confident in the action to take if they are concerned about the conduct of a colleague. Ongoing training and development has been maintained to keep knowledge up to date.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen hygiene practices to reduce the risk of cross-infection nenhance professional development arrangements to help staff deliver a highly ambitious curriculum for all children.