Greenfield Little School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Babies and toddlers are happy and enjoy their time at the nursery. A gradual settling-in process helps even the youngest children to quickly gain confidence in their new environment and leave their parents with ease. Babies and toddlers form secure attachments with their key person and other staff.

Children relish the praise they receive from staff, for instance when they learn to pull themselves up to standing using the low-level furniture. This has a positive impact on their self-confidence and supports their physical skills well.Children benefit from weekly music classes which are led by a member of school staff.

Th...ey enjoy singing nursery rhymes as they move and dance to the songs. During the inspection, staff sang 'Five Speckled Frogs' to the children and visually animated the song with finger puppets and musical instruments. Furthermore, they skilfully weaved in age-appropriate mathematics as they counted down from five to one.

Children learn the sequence of counting from a young age, which successfully supports their future mathematical learning.All children, including the very youngest, are encouraged to learn independence skills from the outset. For example, they make their own choices from the fruit snacks on offer and learn to feed themselves independently.

Staff sit at the table with the children to ensure that all children are closely supervised during mealtimes.

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

Staff ensure that children experience a language-rich learning environment. Staff consistently talk about children's play and routines with them.

They speak slowly and clearly. For example, during snack time, staff name all the fruit on their plate and repeat the words as children make their choices from fruit such as melon, orange and mango. Children learn new words and their meaning.

This further enhances their developing language skills well.Children develop strong physical skills. Babies climb on the indoor climbing frame, showing high levels of concentration.

Their faces light up as they crawl through the tunnel. Young children and babies demonstrate self-confidence as they cruise and crawl around the nursery, learning to stand up independently. This helps them to prepare for their next physical developmental steps.

However, sometimes, staff do not always notice when some activities become busy, such as when lots of children want to use the climbing frame at the same time.Overall, children enjoy a good balance between adult-led activities and those they choose for themselves. Babies and toddlers have opportunities to engage in messy play, including painting with different types of utensils such as pegs with pom-pom balls and sponge brushes.

They show curiosity as they dip these into paint to create prints and patterns. Young children explore paint textures and listen to sounds as they crunch up balls of tin foil. This helps them to strengthen their small muscles effectively.

However, at times, staff do not always recognise when some children are less engaged in the activity than others. This means some children's learning and interests are not fully extended.Babies and toddlers enjoy healthy, balanced meals and snacks.

Staff follow good procedures to ensure that children with dietary requirements or specific medical needs are catered for. Babies and toddlers learn to develop good table manners, appropriate to their age and stage of development.The manager and staff fully understand how important it is for toddlers and babies to have fresh air and exercise every day.

They have many opportunities to explore the environment outside. For instance, they enjoy daily walks with staff in the grounds of the school, forest school sessions and playing in the nursery garden daily. This helps to support their physical well-being and overall good health.

Staff speak positively of the manager and feel they are well supported. Regular supervision, team meetings and ongoing training help staff to feel valued, supported and content in their role. Staff work well as a team in their own rooms and across the nursery.

This helps to promote consistency and supports children's transition as they move up to the next room.Staff work in partnership with parents to provide continuity in children's care routines. Staff share information with parents about their children's day and their individual achievements.

Parents report that their children have made good progress and that they are extremely happy with the care the children receive from staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff are committed to safeguarding children.

They display a good awareness of the signs and symptoms that might indicate that children are at risk of harm. Staff have secure knowledge of the procedures to follow should they have concerns about children's welfare. Staff continually refresh their good safeguarding knowledge and skills, for instance by attending training.

Managers follow robust recruitment procedures to check that staff are suitable to work with children. The provider operates a thorough induction procedure to ensure that those working with children are safe to do so. There are regular reviews of staff's ongoing suitability.

Staff know the procedures to follow should they have concerns about a colleague's conduct or practice. Staff risk assess the premises every day and practise regular fire drills with the children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review staff deployment to ensure all children receive the support they need to gain the most from activities support staff to understand how they can extend children's learning further to help keep children engaged and interested.

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