Kaleidoscope Nursery

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders generally take proactive steps to reduce barriers to children's learning and wellbeing. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with medical needs are generally supported well to access early education alongside their peers. Leaders work closely with health professionals and other agencies to help ensure children receive support from an early stage. Staff receive training and guidance to help them understand children's individual needs and support children within daily routines and play experiences. Leaders use additional funding purposefully to provide resources and promote continuity for children and families, including during school holidays.

Children with medical needs benefit from carefully planned routines and monitoring to help support their safety, wellbeing and inclusion. Leaders ensure staff understand children's care plans, dietary needs and health procedures so children can participate safely in play and learning experiences alongside other children.

Children with English as an additional language benefit from support that values and promotes their home languages. Leaders seek support from local authority language services to help assess children in their home language and support their communication and understanding. While staff generally implement children's support plans and agreed strategies appropriately, communication between key persons is not always precise enough to ensure strategies are consistently embedded across all parts of the day.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders keep the curriculum under ongoing review to help ensure it reflects the needs, interests and stages of development of the children attending the setting. For example, leaders recently identified the need to strengthen children's early mathematical awareness. They introduced enhancements to resources, activities and staff practice to provide children with more opportunities to develop mathematical language and understanding through play and daily routines. When babies and toddlers spend time together, staff adapt the learning environment so younger children can safely and independently access suitable resources and play experiences alongside older children.

Staff typically support children's communication and language development through conversations, songs, rhymes, stories and action songs throughout the day. They provide all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities with generally clear language models, visuals and repetition. This practice helps to support children's understanding and participation in routines and play experiences.

Staff generally recognise some learning opportunities in the moment to support children's understanding of the world, such as encouraging children to notice how materials become heavy when soaked with water and light again when dry. While staff make effective use of observation and assessment, planning and teaching are not always sharply focused on children's precise next steps in learning. As a result, some children do not consistently receive learning experiences and support that help deepen and build on what they already know and can do.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children develop a range of age-appropriate skills across the areas of learning. Babies show increasing awareness of other children and confidently seek interaction with familiar adults during play and daily routines. Toddlers join in with familiar songs and action rhymes and continue these independently during play experiences. Some quieter children are developing increasing confidence in their communication and social interactions and are beginning to use more words and phrases during play.

Pre-school children develop early literacy and mathematical knowledge through daily routines and play experiences. Some children recognise familiar letters, including those in their names, and talk about words that begin with the same sounds.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning access the curriculum and daily routines alongside their peers. Some children with communication and language delays are developing increasing confidence in their interactions and engagement with adults and other children. Children's progress is slightly variable at times because planning and teaching are not always sharply focused on children's precise next steps in learning and development.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders establish routines and expectations that help children feel secure and understand what is expected of them throughout the day. Staff support children to follow familiar routines, including handwashing, tidying away resources, moving between activities and joining group times. Staff use calm interactions and reminders to help children begin to understand expectations for behaviour and develop positive relationships with others. Attendance is monitored appropriately and leaders work with families to help promote regular attendance and continuity in children's learning, particularly for children preparing to move on to school.

Staff encourage children to engage in play and learning experiences that interest them and support them to develop positive relationships with others. Staff help babies to feel secure and encourage them to interact with familiar adults and show awareness of other children during play. Staff support older children to develop friendships, organise imaginative games together and play cooperatively alongside their peers. Staff introduce calming times and familiar routines to help children transition between different parts of the day and support their emotional regulation. Staff adapt routines and provide additional reassurance and support where needed to help children with special educational needs and or disabilities to settle and participate.

Expectations for behaviour and support strategies are not always implemented consistently by all staff during busy periods. As a result, some children do not consistently receive timely support to help them regulate their emotions and behaviour positively.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders place importance on supporting children's welfare and wellbeing and establish routines that help children feel safe, secure and cared for throughout the day. Staff typically know children's individual care, dietary and medical needs well and work closely with families and health professionals to help ensure children receive appropriate care and support. Leaders ensure that staff receive specialised training when required. Staff monitor children with medical needs carefully and follow agreed procedures to support children's health, safety and wellbeing during daily routines and play experiences.

Staff generally support children's emotional wellbeing through warm interactions, reassurance and familiar routines. Babies and younger children seek comfort from familiar adults and staff help children settle and transition between different parts of the day. Staff typically support children's personal care needs and encourage children to begin developing independence within daily routines, such as handwashing, eating and accessing resources. Staff sometimes provide more support than children need during some care routines. For example, staff spoon feed babies who can do this for themselves. As a result, some children do not consistently have opportunities to further develop their independence and self-help skills. Staff do not consistently promote clear messages about healthy eating for children who bring packed lunches from home. As a result, some children do not receive the same support to help develop their understanding of healthy lifestyles and healthy food choices.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders typically demonstrate commitment to improving children's experiences and identify areas they want to strengthen. These include a focus on children's early mathematical awareness, outdoor provision and communication and language. They have a generally accurate understanding of many of the setting's strengths and areas requiring further development and are reflective about the quality of provision provided for children. Monitoring and oversight are not always precise enough to ensure teaching, interactions and agreed support strategies are implemented consistently across all parts of the day. As a result, some children do not consistently receive the highest quality support intended through leaders' plans and expectations.

Leaders generally support staff wellbeing appropriately and create a supportive team culture. Staff speak positively about the support and guidance they receive from leaders, including coaching, training opportunities and wellbeing support. The setting benefits from a longstanding staff team with low staff turnover, helping to provide children with continuity, familiar relationships and consistent care. Leaders also support less experienced staff by pairing them with experienced colleagues to support their confidence. Leaders place importance on professional learning and have recently focused on developing staff's understanding of the curriculum to help strengthen children's learning experiences across the setting.

Parents receive regular updates about children's experiences and leaders work with families to help support children's individual needs.