First Steps Kindergarten

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children make good progress in their learning and development because staff teach them effectively. Staff listen carefully to what children say, observe closely what they can do and have high expectations of what they are able to achieve. This ensures that children are acquiring the skills they need for the next stage of learning. The manager is committed to improving the practice of the setting and is supporting children to develop positive attitudes to learning. Therefore, children behave well and engage in cooperative play for extended periods of time.

Children demonstrate that they are happy in the setting as they are confident in exploring the environment, and older children have good opportunities to think critically about how things might work. For example, they use building bricks to make homes for their puppies, thinking about how they might need to position the bricks to make the spaces. Consequently, children grow in confidence as they learn through trial and error. Staff expose children to a wide variety of language. For example, they talk about 'seedlings' and 'shoots' as they plant flowers. This enables children to use an increasing range of words in their play. Children talk confidently about what they are doing.

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

• The manager and staff have a good understanding of how children learn and develop. They use this knowledge well to implement an ambitious and challenging curriculum. Consequently, children engage in a good range of experiences which enhance their knowledge and skills.
• The manager uses a range of methods to support staff to improve their practice. For example, she talks with staff during team meetings and in supervisions about areas for improvement. Staff work closely together to share ideas with each other about how they might enhance opportunities for children to learn, and they undertake peer observations. However, staff are not always clear on precisely what they need to do to improve their teaching in order to support children to achieve the best possible outcomes.
• Staff use a range of methods to support children to understand how to behave. For example, they use puppets and books with children to support them in understanding their feelings. Therefore, children behave well and are developing their knowledge and understanding of how to manage their emotions.
• Children have a good range of opportunities to develop their physical skills. They throw and catch balls, climb in and out of the ball pool and climb on equipment indoors and outdoors. As a result, children are developing their core strength, balance and coordination.
• Children have a wealth of opportunities to learn about the world around them. They engage in planting seeds and staff help them understand how flowers grow by explaining what will happen to the seeds. This helps children to understand about living things and the growth cycle.
• Staff support older children to be curious and to understand how to find information. For example, children guess how many eggs Komodo dragons might lay and then find out the correct information in a book. However, some staff do not always provide younger children with opportunities that help them to test out their own developing ideas. This means that some children cannot fully explore their thoughts.
• Children's personal development is promoted well. They enjoy healthy meals and play outdoors every day. Children engage in good hygiene routines and learn about the characteristics that make them unique. For example, they draw pictures of themselves and their individual features. Consequently, children thrive in this warm and welcoming nursery.
• Parents speak positively about their children's experiences in the nursery. They appreciate the information they receive about their children's learning and development and how they can continue the learning at home. This creates a consistent approach for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to strengthen the professional development of staff, and focus on enhancing their knowledge and skills in order to consistently improve the teaching of the curriculum to the very highest levels
• refine the implementation of the curriculum, to extend the range of opportunities that allow younger children to test out their own ideas.