Caring Kindergartens

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this welcoming and safe setting. Families are greeted by friendly staff at the door. Children are helped to settle quickly as they enter their individual rooms, choosing who and what they want to play with. Children have positive relationships with each other and staff. They show kindness and care towards others as they hug their friends who have been hurt. Staff praise them highly for their positive interactions, which promotes their self-esteem and confidence.

All children are encouraged by staff to be independent from an early age, and children demonstrate a willingness to do things for themselves. Babies recognise their own needs as they help themselves to their own drinks and find their own beds when it is time for sleep. When accessing the outdoors, older children decide whether they need their coats on or not. All children are encouraged to help themselves to fruit at snack time and serve their own food at lunch.

Staff help children to develop good physical skills as they explore the outdoors. Children greatly enjoy playing in the nursery garden, and staff help them to develop good physical skills. Babies and toddlers show good skills as staff guide them to carefully manoeuvre themselves over an obstacle course. Pre-school children run up ramps, use ropes to climb and show good coordination as they peddle bikes. All children show good small-muscle skills as they handle and use appropriate cups and cutlery at lunch, use paint brushes well, and enjoy learning how to thread string through holes.

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

• Overall, children of all ages behave well. Staff ensure that simple rules and expectations are embedded into practice, such as lining up at doors, sharing and listening to others. Overall, older children follow routines and comply with what is asked of them. However, staff are not consistent in how they manage older children's behaviour, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). For example, when children throw things on the floor, sometimes staff ask them to pick them up and sometimes they do not. Therefore, children do not learn about expectations and boundaries.
• Overall, staff engage children in conversations as they play. Toddlers repeat the names of animals, and staff model and repeat the correct use of words. Staff talk to children as they play, offering commentary to help them to hear a range of words. However, staff do not always recognise that less-confident children would benefit from more adult interactions to enhance their spoken skills further. This is particularly relevant for children who speak English as an additional language.
• All children make good progress in their learning and development, particularly children aged three and under. Staff implement a clear and sequenced curriculum to prepare children well for the next stage in their learning. Older children extend their own learning. They listen to stories about space rockets and then use play equipment to build their own rocket. However, there are times when older children are not as well supported in their progress. This is somewhat due to changes in staffing as well as how the spaces for children are organised.
• Children with SEND or those who require additional support are identified early. Staff know these children well and provide appropriate spaces for them to use, such as a tent, as a calm space for them should they become overwhelmed. Staff work well with other agencies to ensure that all children who attend the setting make good progress.
• Leadership and management is good. The manager has a clear overview of the setting. They are well supported by senior leaders, and are highly supportive of the staff team. She closely monitors the good quality of education and care that staff provide. The manager and staff complete regular observations of practice to ensure that this is effective and meeting the needs of children. Regular supervision meetings ensure that staff have opportunities to discuss any well-being issues that they may have and training needs.
• Parents speak highly of the manager and staff, and praise them for the good learning and care offered to their children. They comment that their children are happy, and are kept well informed of how they are progressing in the setting. Good feedback is offered to every parent verbally and through an online system. Parents have many opportunities to share what their child learns at home. Workshops are offered to parents to help them to know how they can support their children further, such as helping children to be ready for starting school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff who work with older children to develop their skills in supporting children who struggle with regulating their own behaviour
• implement strategies to help children who are less confident or struggling with their communication and language to develop their speaking skills further; this is with particular regard to those children who speak English as an additional language
• review the organisation and placement of staff in the upstairs rooms to ensure that they are able to consistently support every child to make the progress that they are capable of.