K & Q Childcare Services Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are keen to arrive at the nursery and are welcomed by kind and caring staff. They choose from a range of learning experiences which enable them to make good progress from their starting points. Indoors, children engage in role play where they pretend to make pizzas. They talk about the pizza being hot and what toppings they like. Outdoors, children excitedly explore sand and water and giggle as they play with bubbles and try to pop them. Children have opportunities to visit the local community. For example, they have visited the city farm and tally up numbers of animals to support their early mathematics skills.

Children are sociable and confident communicators. They are interested in sea life and dinosaurs and staff use their interests to support the curriculum planning. Children form friendships and work collaboratively with each other. For example, they skilfully navigate where blocks should go to make a shared model.

Overall, children behave well and understand expectations. Staff have developed their understanding of how to support children's behaviour more positively. Children are supported to express themselves and manage their feelings. Staff re-enforce messages that 'sharing is caring' to help children to understand concepts such as taking turns.

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

• The manager has been reflective since the last inspection to make secure improvements. There has been a focus on staff training and mentoring to raise the quality of teaching. The manager is a good role model and guides staff practice well. She knows where to focus her time to ensure staff receive the right level of support. Consequently, children make good progress in their development.
• Parents are very happy with the care provided to their children and have seen their children progress. They say their children enjoy attending and describe the staff as 'fantastic'. Parents value the opportunity to discuss their children's progress with key persons during coffee mornings.
• Children enjoy singing songs and enthusiastically join in the actions when singing 'Five Little Ducks'. The rhyme and repetition of familiar songs supports children's language development. However, story time is not always well organised to support children's learning. Children are distracted by other things which are happening in the room, which means they lose interest and become disengaged.
• Children learn the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They demonstrate good physical skills as they navigate space and throw and catch balls. Interesting discussions are held about what foods are good for us and why. Children learn about oral health. However, children's toothbrushes are not stored hygienically, which presents as a cross-contamination risk.
• Staff support children who are learning English as an additional language well. There is a focus on building children's vocabulary in partnership with parents. All children are valued and respected and are developing good levels of self-esteem.
• Staff enjoy working at the setting. They feel supported by the manager and value the training opportunities provided. They have regular supervision sessions to assess the quality of their work and to consider how professional development can support them further.
• Children learn to be independent, for example by managing their toileting needs and putting on their own shoes to go outside to play. They freely access water and know that they need to drink more during warmer weather to stay hydrated. These skills prepare them for their next stage of learning, such as their eventual move on to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of story time to ensure that children remain fully engaged and disruptions to their learning are minimised
• review the arrangements for storing children's toothbrushes to minimise any risk of cross-infection.