Karmand Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy at the setting and form secure bonds with staff. Most children separate easily and confidently from their parents. However, after a three week break over the Christmas period, a small number of children are upset when they arrive. They receive excellent and sensitive support from staff and quickly settle.

The key-person system is effective and children receive good support and attention. Staff know the children in their care well. This enables them to effectively plan for the next steps for each child's learning and development. Pre-school children talk about what they like to do at the setting, such as 'cutting and gluing' and playing with their friends.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and learning. All children, including those with additional needs or who speak English as an additional language, are well supported by staff. As a result, all children at the setting make good progress in their learning and development.

Children are busy and occupied throughout the day and enjoy the wide range of stimulating resources and activities. However, not all children's large physical development is promoted during the morning session as not all children have access to the outdoor play area.

Children behave well and have a positive attitude to learning. Staff consistently support children to form good relationships with peers and to play cooperatively. For example, they patiently wait and take turns to spin the rotas of a toy helicopter.

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

• Staff implement a well-designed curriculum, which supports children to make good progress in all areas of learning. Staff adapt activities to take account of children's individual needs and next steps. Staff also provide a stimulating and accessible environment that promotes independent learning and exploration. For example, children use their imagination to select and add additional items to their play dough models.
• Children show high levels of interest and skill, such as when cutting paper into small square pieces. Staff take children's interests into account and provide a range of activities that include dinosaurs. For example, children use small-muscle skills to manipulate play dough into dinosaur shapes. They demonstrate an understanding of different characteristics by adding feathers to their models when making dinosaur birds.
• Children have access to some natural materials indoors, such as water, sand, branches, leaves and feathers. However, there are limited regular opportunities for children to explore and learn more about the natural world outdoors.
• Staff help to consolidate learning by asking children appropriate questions. For example, when young children use animal names in the sensory room, staff extend this by asking what noises different animals make. Staff support younger children's early counting skills well. They introduce numbers and count, before blowing bubbles for the children to catch. Older children learn about shapes when cutting squares during a craft activity, which also promotes their small-muscle skills.
• Children's language and communication are well promoted across the setting. Children participate in lots of singing and story time routines, such as singing songs about fish and ducks when playing in the water. In addition, staff talk and sing to children during daily care routines, such as at nappy changing times. This helps to promote children's speech development.
• Staff work extremely well in partnership with parents and carers to ensure they are kept well informed of their child's development and progress. Parents comment that their children have made very good progress since starting at the setting, particularly in their language and social development.
• Parents were not entering the setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they do now enter their child's playroom, where staff inform them about their child's day and learning. Parents are supported to help their child's learning at home through a book-lending scheme. Books are also available in dual languages.
• Staff work well with other professionals in order to ensure that children with additional language and communication needs receive the support they need. Staff ensure they help children to understand instructions and directions by using visual support, such as gestures, signs, pictures and objects. Staff also support children well with transitions within the setting. The key person visits the pre-school room with children until they are comfortable to move up independently.
• Staff benefit from an appraisal process and have access to ongoing training and development courses, such as safeguarding children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that all children have opportunities for outdoor play on a daily basis, or physical play indoors when that is not possible, for example, due to unsafe weather conditions
• provide regular opportunities for children to learn about the natural world outdoors.