Crown Kindergartens

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children play in a vibrant and nurturing learning environment. They access a wide variety of toys and activities, promoting equal opportunities for all areas. For instance, babies develop their imagination as they explore malleable materials during indoor activities. They also enjoy baking Christmas cupcakes, supporting their sensory skills effectively. Older children investigate real fruit and vegetables in the home corner. They receive good levels of support from staff as they use tools safely to cut up vegetables such as broccoli and carrots. Children's behaviour is good. They play well together and show respect for their environment.

Children have developed strong relationships with all staff, enabling them to feel happy and safe at the nursery. They enjoy chatting to staff and share lots of laughter with them, such as when playing games. Children respond very well to staff's high expectations for their learning. For example, they show good levels of concentration as they listen to stories being read to them. During a song and movement session, children enjoy moving their bodies to music. Children of all ages are motivated to play and learn. They gain the necessary skills for their future education.

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

• The experienced manager continues to evaluate the quality of the provision. Since the last inspection, she has taken positive steps to address the areas in need of development. For example, she has provided more opportunities for children to practise their early writing skills in preparation for school.
• Partnerships with parents are much stronger since the last inspection. Staff work hard to keep all parents informed about their children's progress. Parents are delighted with the service they receive. They comment very positively on the friendliness and caring nature of the staff. Children benefit well from this strong partnership.
• The manager meets with staff regularly to ensure that their well-being is a priority. Staff appreciate the opportunities to develop their teaching practice. For example, following training, they have increased their knowledge of how to support babies' exploratory nature. As a result, babies are more engaged in their play. The manager acknowledges that the supervision and training for individual staff members, particularly those who are new and less experienced, are not focused sharply to raise their teaching to the highest level.
• Staff observe and monitor children's learning to help them to make good progress. They are skilful at promoting children's language development. For example, they use repetition and speak clearly to communicate with the children. Children, including those who speak English as an additional language, respond positively to this. Occasionally, some staff members do not make effective use of opportunities to develop and build on children's early mathematical skills. For example, during planned activities, they do not challenge children to explore numbers further to extend their mathematical knowledge.
• Staff implement clear boundaries and give children lots of praise for their efforts. Consequently, children behave well.
• Children are independent learners. Babies explore their environment freely and older children carry out manageable tasks for themselves, such as putting on their coats and shoes for outdoor play.
• Staff promote children's good health effectively. They ensure that children wash their hands before handling food and after using the toilet. Staff also teach children to brush their teeth to support their personal hygiene.
• Staff work closely with specialist teachers, such as those for phonics and sports, to further enhance children's learning. They organise several outings to teach children about diversity in their area.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• engage individual staff members, particularly those who are new and less experienced, in more targeted professional development to raise the quality of teaching to the highest level
• make more effective use of opportunities to develop and build on children's early mathematical skills.