Just Kid Inn

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and ready to start the day at this stimulating, clean and spacious nursery. Children develop strong attachments to staff, who are friendly and caring towards them. Staff have high expectations of the children, who follow instructions and are well behaved. Staff offer children a secure base of care and affection. Children who are new to the setting settle easily as staff get to know them quickly and meet their individual needs. Babies explore the world around them and develop their physical skills as they steadily walk up and down the climbing resources. Staff encourage babies to reach out and investigate books and the resources around them.

Toddlers make independent choices as they access different tools and materials. They enjoy messy play and create play dough shapes using their imaginations. Staff skilfully join in with children's play and investigations. They support children as they talk to them about what they are doing and give them plenty of time to repeat activities. Staff encourage older children to come up with their own ideas and explanations, for example during oral hygiene learning activities. Staff support children's language skills as they encourage children to point to pictures and explain what they see.

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

• Staff offer children nutritious meals and encourage them to develop a good understanding of healthy options. They provide lots of opportunities for babies and toddlers to feed themselves. Staff comment on eating healthily and start conversations about the importance of good food.
• Children enjoy daily walks in the local environment and trips out to the museum during the holidays. All children have allocated time in the large and well-resourced soft-play area in the nursery. They walk up slopes, dig in the sandpit, ride wheeled toys, crawl through tunnels and walk along planks.
• Staff interact well with children during play, and children have lots of fun. However, at times, staff are not aware of the high noise levels, which disrupt children's concentration and learning.
• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively, and they work well with other agencies to support children. However, a lack of specific training in this area means staff struggle at times to manage the complexity of children's needs and the number of children who need support.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents speak highly of staff and are happy with the progress their children are making. Staff keep parents updated via the parent app. This includes all the important information about their child's progress and daily activities. Parents are invited to join in celebrations and stay and play with their children.
• Leaders understand how to offer a wide and varied curriculum that supports children's learning. Staff plan for children's development well because they observe what children can do. They assess children's stage of development and plan for children's next steps in learning.
• Staff receive good support from leaders, who carry out regular supervision sessions and offer online training packages to develop staff's childcare knowledge. Leaders care about their staff's well-being and provide support when needed. Regular staff meetings ensure topics such as safeguarding are discussed and understood by staff.
• Staff support children to take responsibility for small tasks. Children pour their own drinks and wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet.
• Staff work with parents and notice when children are ready for toilet training. Staff establish friendly cooperation with children and are sensitive to their care needs. Babies' nappy changing routines are established and records kept and shared with parents.
• Children make marks with paint, writing tools and in the sand. They learn to recognise their names and enjoy listening to stories.
• Staff support toddlers during group activities. Children enjoy singing nursery action rhymes. They sequence patterns of movements as they reach for their head and shoulders and bend down to touch their knees and toes.
• Staff support children's acceptance of difference. Children learn about different festivals. All children have equal access to learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• minimise noise levels when interacting with children to support children's learning experiences
• provide training to develop staff's skills to support children with a range of different needs and the number of children who require extra support.