Kaleidoscope

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff welcome children warmly as they arrive. They gather information before children start and use this to implement routines that are geared to each individual child. The key-person system is strong. Staff build positive relationships with children and provide them with encouragement and support. Children who are new to the nursery or who are a little unsure are given lots of reassurance. They happily seek staff out for a cuddle or to involve them in their play. As a result, children demonstrate that they are happy and settled.

Staff implement a curriculum that covers all areas of learning, to help children make good progress from their initial starting points. They swiftly recognise where there are gaps in children's learning and provide additional support to help these to close quickly. Staff plan activities based on children's interests and what they need to learn next. Consequently, children enjoy taking part in the activities and quickly become engaged. Children learn to behave appropriately. Staff model good behaviour and talk to children about sharing and taking turns. Children play well together. They take it in turns to count from 1 to 15 when they play hide and seek, and excitedly shout 'found you' after they search for their friends.

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

• Leaders who are on site demonstrate a good understanding of what they expect children to learn as they progress through the different rooms in the nursery. They work with staff to develop and enhance the curriculum. For example, they have recently expanded the curriculum to include more natural experiences and trips in the local community, to further benefit children's understanding of the world around them.
• Leaders who are on site regularly monitor the quality of the provision and staff practice. They are passionate about the support that they provide for children and their families and the staff team. Staff benefit from regular peer reviews and supervision meetings. They have opportunities to attend training to further their already good knowledge and skills and enhance their own professional development. This results in a staff team who are capable and experienced to provide the support that children need to help them achieve.
• Staff's well-being is given high priority. Leaders who are on site have introduced individual well-being meetings which staff attend, and a staff kindness group, where staff can share positive comments about each other. This boosts staff morale. Staff say that leaders are very supportive, and they feel that they can talk to them about any concerns they may have.
• Children make choices in their play. For example, older children vote to decide which story they want to listen to. They count how many votes each book has and know that seven votes are more than four votes. Children throughout the nursery enjoy looking at books. Even the youngest babies cuddle into staff as they look at the pictures and feel the different textures. Older children repeat familiar phrases, and staff skilfully introduce feelings into stories to help children begin to understand their emotions.
• Children's communication and language are supported well from an early age. Staff working with babies and younger children respond positively to their babble and encourage sounds and first words. Older children hear new words and vocabulary and begin to include them in their conversations. Staff ask children questions and patiently wait for them to think about the answer and respond. They recognise where there may be gaps in children's speech and language, and work with outside professionals to ensure children receive any additional support they may need.
• Staff ensure children take part in a range of interesting activities. Younger children explore coloured rice and Arctic animals. They use tweezers to transport the rice to containers, which helps to develop their fine motor skills. Older children recognise numbers on a snowman's hat and can match the corresponding number of buttons. However, on occasions the organisation of activities does not enable all children to participate fully to gain the very best from their learning.
• Relationships with parents are strong. Parents speak positively about the care and learning that their children receive, and the support given to families by leaders who are on site and staff. Information is shared via an online app. However, not all parents access this and, therefore, information, such as children's next steps in learning, are not consistently shared with all parents often enough. In addition, parents and children do not always know which room the pre-school children will be in until they arrive, as this is dependant on the numbers of children who attend. This can cause some confusion, as children sometimes have to move to a different room when they arrive.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider the organisation of activities, to enable all children to fully participate and get the very best from their learning
• review information sharing with parents, to ensure that they are always fully aware of their child's next steps in learning, and also which rooms children will be in before they arrive.