Blueprints @ KNS

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders have an in-depth understanding of their families and children and respond to their needs superbly. There are robust settling-in procedures, including home visits. These enable staff to gather children's starting points. Observations and assessments ensure that staff swiftly identify gaps in children's learning. When appropriate, staff implement clear plans to support individual children.

Leaders responsible for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are extremely experienced in their roles. They attend training to ensure their knowledge remains up to date and work closely with other professionals. Staff ensure that all activities are fully inclusive. They adapt them to meet the individual needs of every child, including those with SEND. For example, staff use Makaton to support children's communication and understanding. The setting has extensive connections with agencies, including health visitors and speech and language specialists, to ensure that every child can attend. They also have experience working with children and families involved with social care. Leaders work hand in hand with families and agencies to ensure children's safety and happiness.

Leaders effectively allocate additional funding to achieve positive outcomes for children. The funds are directed toward specific training, resources and support to address children's developmental needs. These strategies assist disadvantaged children who face learning or wellbeing challenges. This enables them to make positive progress and quickly close any gaps in their development.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Staff demonstrate a sound understanding of the curriculum and of how to plan activities. They know their key children well and recognise that each child requires a different level of support, depending on their stage of development. However, staff find it difficult to plan for children who attend other settings because they do not consistently share information about their next steps and progress with one another. Therefore, children do not benefit from a continuity of learning shared between the other settings they attend.

Staff create an environment in which books and other resources are easily accessible for children. They encourage a love of songs and rhymes, which enhance children's communication and language skills. For example, children enjoy singing 'The Wheels on the Bus' and excitedly pretending to 'swish' the wipers and 'beep' the horn. Staff's enthusiasm for fully engaging children inspires them to participate and join in the activities. Staff plan exercises that strengthen the small muscles in children's hands, such as gripping small brushes while pretending to clean plates and fitting shapes into shape sorters. Staff also introduce early mathematics concepts and weave them into the daily routine. For instance, they model counting and identify shapes and colours.

Achievement: Expected standard

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those facing other barriers to their learning, typically achieve well across all areas of the curriculum from their individual starting points. Children learn to express themselves through their facial expressions. They show delight as they complete tasks, sing songs, turn the pages as they look at books and join in with well-known rhymes.

Children make friends, learn to take turns and share their toys and resources. They show they are starting to count as they join in counting the cups at mealtimes and the beads on the abacus. Children develop a range of skills as they play. They complete puzzles and place the stacking rings on the stand. Children start to develop good hand-eye coordination and focus for increasing lengths of time. However, sometimes children lack sufficient opportunities and time to be curious and explore, especially during sensory activities, for example as they mix cornflour and water to make gloop or use brushes and cloths to clean bowls. This limits children's chances to use their senses fully and discover what happens next.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Staff are positive role models who promote kindness. As a result, children demonstrate excellent behaviour and early social skills. Staff stay close to children, acknowledge their efforts to share and teach them to interact kindly. They intervene when children need reminding of the boundaries to ensure positive behaviour at all times. Staff consistently model expectations and how to share, reinforcing a positive attitude to learning at all times. Staff also prepare children for the need to take turns, commenting, 'Ready, Steady, Go. It is your turn.' This consistent reinforcement of expectations greatly helps children to understand what is happening and what is expected of them.

Staff are eager to praise children at every opportunity. They ensure that children receive plenty of positive encouragement. For example, when children try to move the beads on the abacus, staff encourage them to have another go and praise them when they move them in the right direction.

Well-established consistent routines are in place. Staff skilfully sing songs to signal subtle changes, such as moving from carpet time to snack time. This helps children to focus and prepares them for routine transitions. Leaders work closely with families to ensure that children attend regularly and arrive on time. This supports children to understand the importance of regular sessions.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders and staff focus on children's wellbeing. They foster respectful, warm and nurturing relationships. This creates a trusting and inclusive environment. Leaders and staff consistently take time to understand each child's needs. This is particularly evident during children's care routines, such as nappy changes. Staff follow safer sleep practices, including regular checks and monitoring of room temperature. The key-person system is highly effective. Children form secure relationships with their key person and other staff who care for them. Staff encourage children to use mirrors to help them explore their facial expressions. This helps children to begin to identify and understand different emotions.

Children consistently make their own healthy choices and decisions. Staff sit with children while they eat and are extremely vigilant during mealtimes. They check lunch boxes to ensure food does not pose a choking hazard. Staff talk to children about what they are eating, explain that fruit is healthy for them and emphasise the need for water to stay hydrated. Staff complete thorough risk assessments to ensure all areas in use are safe. Staff are highly responsive to the varying needs and changing circumstances of individual children. They point out risks to children as they play, for example to be careful they do not bump their heads. This helps children to develop an early understanding of how to stay safe. Staff model meticulous hygiene standards. They explain to children why they need to wipe their noses and use hand gel before they eat lunch.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders promote excellent collaboration across their sites, which are part of a collaborative hub. As a result, they are both reflective and proactive in fostering ongoing improvements and improving outcomes for children. Leaders recognise and demonstrate a secure understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development. For example, they continue to embed staff's understanding of the curriculum and planning processes. Leaders consistently prioritise a nurturing environment and the security of children's emotional wellbeing. This approach celebrates children's uniqueness and significantly improves their confidence and outcomes. Leaders place an emphasis on working closely with parents and carers and the on-site nursery school, including robust arrangements to ensure children have a smooth transition into the nursery school. These include flexible settling-in sessions and the presence of children's key persons to support the process. Children benefit greatly from excellent communication among the child's key persons, with an emphasis on continuity of care and children's emotional security. Leaders have plans to strengthen ties with other settings. This will be highly supportive for children who attend them and provide further continuity of care.

Leaders have excellent communication channels with parents through newsletters, learning updates and photos of children engaging in activities. This significantly enhances parental engagement in their child's learning, including how to reinforce learning at home. Parents value the setting highly and praise the staff team. They describe them as 'lovely, caring and gentle'. Staff hold weekly team meetings, which help them remain responsive and discuss children's emerging needs. This collaborative approach creates an enriching environment that meets the diverse needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Leaders foster an extremely supportive working environment. They recognise the importance of staff wellbeing and the team having mutual respect for one another. Staff report feeling happy and valued in their roles. A robust professional development process enables staff to access regular, purposeful training and strive for continuous improvement.