ASK Kindergarten & Clubs

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy in this nurturing environment. Staff are on hand each morning to welcome children and their families. Children enjoy self-registering. Staff place strong emphasis on ensuring that children feel emotionally secure as they separate from their parents. For example, children enjoy the nursery cuddly toys as comforters when they need them. Their individual photograph books of people who are special to them help children to make links between nursery and home.

Staff know children well and quickly form strong bonds with them and their families. They carefully plan interesting and exciting activities for children. They use their assessments to set personalised targets. They ensure that the curriculum is sequenced to build on what children know and can do, and ensure that all children make expected progress.

Staff have high expectation for how they want children to behave. They teach children the importance of being kind. For instance, children enjoy being praised as they place corks into a reward jar when they have shown acts of kindness.

Children are encouraged to be independent with health and self-care. They use large models to practise brushing their teeth. Staff read stories to support them with potty training. The designated hygiene station helps children to remember to 'catch it' and 'bin it' when blowing their nose. Staff support children as they independently dress themselves for outdoor play.

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

• Children attend well to circle-time activities. They clap along with staff as they say 'good morning' to their friends. They take turns and use resources, such as the visual timetable to follow the daily routines. They follow adults' instructions for tidying away toys and for lining up for outdoor play. They enjoy listening to each other as they share familiar stories in the reading area.
• Children engage well in the wide range of activities on offer to support their fine motor development. They enjoy using chalk and spoons to make marks in sand. They use rolling pins and cutters to manipulate play dough. They self-select pens, paper, scissors and glue from the craft station to practise their writing and engage in self-initiated craft activities.
• Children enjoy filling a range of measuring cylinders and syringes with coloured water. Staff support them to physically push and pull to load the syringes and to fill the cylinders with different amounts of water. However, staff do not consistently make the most of opportunities to further support children to learn about capacity and encourage their number recognition, to enhance their mathematics skills further.
• Staff promote a love for reading. Children enjoy taking the 'Guess How Much I Love You' story sack home and sharing the story with their parents. Staff read familiar stories to children and children enjoy joining in with the repeated phrases. Staff introduce children to new vocabulary using their actions and a range of related props.
• Staff talk to children about the importance of making healthy choices as part of a healthy lifestyle. Children enjoy eating a range of fruits at snack time. They enjoy fresh air and exercise in their large garden area. Staff engage in a range of games with children, supporting them to run and negotiate space. Children enjoy riding bicycles, balancing on wooden beams and climbing on stepping stones. This further supports their physical development.
• Parents are extremely happy with the nursery. Their children are happy, and staff support them with ideas of how to help at home. They receive daily communication from the staff team and written and verbal developmental summaries. They know staff well and talk highly of this dedicated team in supporting their families.
• The leadership team support staff well. Staff engage in regular supervision meetings and have opportunities to gain early years recognised qualifications. They show passion for continuous improvement and have a clear vision in moving forward. Leaders and staff work with a range of external agencies to ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. They have established links with the schools that children go on to attend, to support children as they move onto their next stages in learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend opportunities for children to learn about capacity and recognise numbers, to further develop their mathematics skills.