Christchurch Kindergarten @ Ascension

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive eager to find activities linked to their interests. The curriculum is ambitious; staff come together to plan creatively for each child's individual interests. Observations, an online app and instinct are used to ensure that children have clear next steps, devised and tailored to their individual needs.

Children requiring additional help or those with special educational needs and/or disabilities are extremely well supported. Staff seek parental consent to make referrals. Since the last inspection, staff have attended training and introduced strategies such as adult-led small groups to develop children's attention and listening and communication skills.

Staff are where the children are and swiftly respond to questions or requests for support. Children form close bonds with staff who are kind and responsive to them. Children behave incredibly well. Times of change are managed well and routine activities are embedded. Children know exactly what is expected of them. For example, when outside and the bell rings, children line up and walk back together into the building.

Parents return to the setting; they encourage friends and family to use the nursery, as they feel involved in their children's learning. Parents say how happy their children are to attend. They feel they make good progress and are kept safe.

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

• Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have devised a step-by-step plan to address the actions raised. Links have been established with the local early years team, who visit regularly. The setting is also participating in a mentoring project, with local primary schools, to access ongoing guidance on curriculum and planning. This helps to ensure that children have high expectations of their learning and make progress.
• Specific strategies are effectively used to support children who need additional help. Staff have attended a range of training linked to developing children's speech and attention and listening skills. Children requiring support are swiftly identified and parental consent obtained to make referrals. The setting initiates early intervention through structured, adult-led small groups. Assessments completed at the beginning and end of programmes demonstrate how children rapidly make progress from their starting points.
• Staff successfully support children who speak English as an additional language. Staff use shared language or key words requested from parents. During small-group activities, staff introduce songs and rhymes. Children's knowledge is extended using books with repeated phrases that children become familiar with.
• Children enthusiastically join in, filling gaps in the text as they build on what they know.
• Children's emotional well-being is well supported. Key workers are allocated to support children moving into the setting. Staff encourage quieter children to join in discussions, for example by using familiar stories like 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' and linking what foods they like to eat to the caterpillar. Staff give children time to consider and share their thoughts and ideas. Children build confidence, as they can use their voice to get their needs met.
• Planned activities are provided both indoors and outside. Children's interest in minibeasts is extended by completing nature walks and by looking for insects in the garden. Children's knowledge is further extended by examining features on models and looking in books to consider how minibeasts move and where they live.
• Parents share how they enjoy being involved in their children's learning. They share pictures and observations from home via the online app. Parents take pictures and keep a diary when it is their time to have the nursery soft toy at home. Staff are seen as kind and supportive and work with them to develop skills such as toilet training.
• All staff have attended training to refresh their safeguarding knowledge. They feel more informed and confidently describe different observations that would raise concern and what they would do in response. They understand early help and share information on local services and support available to parents.
• Leaders have started to incorporate a range of strategies to support staff development. Regular meetings during induction into the setting help to ensure that staff have a clear understanding of the management's expectations of their practice. Supervision and regular team meetings, along with face-to-face and online training, have helped to develop the staff's sense of team. Leaders have introduced peer-on-peer observations, ensuring that they have a clear overview of areas for development. They continue to build the strength of the team.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that the strategies introduced are now embedded to promote the continuous professional development of all staff.