KaiDrums Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at nursery. Staff ensure they receive the support they need to develop into confident and motivated learners. Children in pre-school thrive as they busy themselves with the wealth of activities on offer. They play imaginatively and demonstrate high levels of independence. Children pretend to be superheroes, doctors or make meals. They competently dress and undress as they change characters to fit the narrative of their play.

Staff are skilled at developing children's early language skills. Toddlers are enthralled at song time as staff bring singing to life using animated voices and props. Staff understand that a focus on singing and story times can help develop young children's early language. Children join staff to sing welcome songs, or babble along as staff sing while children play.

Children develop strong physical skills. Staff provide activities to promote small-muscle skills. Children fix large puzzle pieces together. They make marks with pens and paint to help develop later writing skills. Children are very familiar with the routines of the day. They tell visitors what they are doing next. They talk conversationally about how they enjoy playing with their friends and explain how their favourite toys work. At the end of each session, children work together cooperatively to tidy away all the toys and resources.

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

• Leaders work hard to build a harmonised staff team. Recent leaderships changes have been made to ensure staff receive further individualised support and supervision. Staff benefit from ongoing training to develop their practice and raise outcomes for children even higher.
• Staff know children very well. They have a good understanding about what children know and what they need to learn next. Staff follow children's interests closely when planning activities. For example, they set up paint-printing activities with toy animals for those children who show a passion for jungle animals and the sounds they make. However, some focused activities are not always planned well. At times, staff do not consider when there are too many children at an activity or how they can differentiate planned activities to fully engage children in learning.
• Leaders and staff place a high priority on developing children's speaking skills. Staff carry out focused assessments on children's level of communication as soon as they join. Any gaps are swiftly identified and targeted plans and support are in place to help address any emerging concerns.
• Staff work well with other professionals to help children achieve as well as they can. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive strong support through staff knowledge and effective partnership working. Children benefit from skilled one-to-one support, or small group activities, to help them to make good progress from their starting points.
• Children demonstrate high levels of independence. They access their own drinks and clear away plates and cups after mealtimes. Overall, children behave well. However, not all staff follow a consistent approach to supporting children to learn what is expected of them. For example, some staff do not challenge children who do not treat resources with respect. When children occasionally run in the rooms, some staff remind children to walk indoors, while other staff ignore it.
• Staff support children to develop healthy lifestyle habits. Children enjoy a range of healthy snacks and meals. Staff encourage children to try fruit and vegetables they are not familiar with. Leaders listen to each child's voice when planning for their care. For example, when new caterers provide the lunchtime meal, children are asked to put forward their opinions by voting with a thumb up or down.
• Parent partnerships are effective. Staff share information with parents in a variety of ways. For example, parents can access an electronic app for learning information and regular summaries about their child's development. Staff speak to parents at drop off and pick up time and share information through newsletters. Parents of the youngest children receive a daily diary, with more detailed information about their child's care. This helps to keep parents informed and promotes good continuity of care.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• organise planned activities more effectively to fully engage children in learning
• provide a more consistent approach to promoting positive behaviour.