Akidz

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at this warm and welcoming pre-school happy and eager to start their day. Staff know their key children well. They build strong relationships from the start and tailor the care and learning they provide to meet each child's individual needs. This helps children feel safe and secure. Staff encourage children's independence skills from the outset. Children are confident and they hang up their belongings and self-serve their chosen healthy cereal for breakfast.

Leaders have high expectations of the children in their setting. They have designed a curriculum that is based around children's communication and language skills, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and children who speak English as an additional language. For example, children are given time to develop skills such as listening, and all children, including babies, thoroughly enjoy singing and stories. Babies point to the visual pictures of the songs they would like to sing. Older children learn the different names of African animals. This helps children make good progress in their communication and language skills.

Children are sociable and behave well. For example, they listen very well to staff, who value children's choices as they play. Staff promote a kind and calm environment for children to explore. This helps to promote children's self-esteem and well-being.

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

• Leaders have worked hard to make improvements since the last inspection. They have a clear understanding of what children need to learn and have designed a broad ambitious curriculum. Staff interact well with children to support their language development in their chosen play. However, in some group activities, although staff have a clear learning intention, they do not ensure that children's individual learning is consistently built on what they already know and can do. Consequently, children's engagement is not sustained to build on their learning.
• Staff promote children's physical development effectively. They plan a wide range of experiences outdoors to develop children's large muscles. For example, toddlers show they are developing good core strength as they balance on a see-saw. Older children have ample opportunities to develop the small muscles in their hands for later learning.
• Staff help children to develop healthy habits. For instance, children show they understand how to keep themselves safe in the sun as they talk about wearing sun hats and needing sunscreen before they go outside. Staff teach younger children the importance of washing their hands before mealtimes. This helps children learn self-care skills for the future.
• Staff offer children activities they are interested in and are curious to try. They know children's interests very well and ensure these resources are available for children. Children with SEND concentrate and keep trying as they build towers with stacking cups, turning them over as they place them on top of each other. This helps children develop their concentration skills.
• Staff are good role models. They are kind and consistent in their approach with children. They support toddlers and pre-school children to begin to recognise and manage their feelings. For instance, toddlers point to a 'happy' face as they learn about happy and sad. This helps the children develop knowledge of different emotions.
• Overall, staff implement daily routines that are effective in supporting children's emotional needs. However, some routines for younger children, such as snack time and nappy changing times, interrupt younger children's play, and staff do not always recognise that children are not ready to leave their chosen activity. This means some children become a little distressed, and children do not gain the most from these routines.
• Staff work well in partnership with parents. Parents comment on how their children's speech has improved. Staff share regular information with parents about their children's development through daily discussions. This helps parents to continue their children's learning at home.
• Leaders support staff through inductions, supervision sessions and mentoring. They ensure that they give clear information and guidance to new members of staff or agency staff about their roles and responsibilities. As a result, all staff understand how to support children in their learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to teach precise learning intentions during group activities to help children remain fully engaged and learning
• strengthen the organisation of daily routines so they are more flexible and do not interrupt children's play and learning.