Kid Ease Dover Buckland

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Families are warmly greeted at this friendly and welcoming setting. Staff know the children and parents very well and show kindness and care towards them. Children arrive happily, eager to go into their rooms to play and see their friends. This helps children to feel settled and secure. Staff provide a range of activities for children, which engage and motivate them. For example, younger children delight in exploring a 'winter wonderland' tray, sprinkling snow into cake cases and talking about the wintery weather with staff. Older children enjoy scooping coloured ice and explaining how it melts. These activities promote children's imagination and thinking skills successfully.

Staff develop environments to support children's individual needs and interests effectively. For example, staff have created cosy, calm spaces for children to promote relaxation and reflection. These help children to learn to manage their feelings, promoting their emotional well-being. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. For example, children enthusiastically explore the special sensory space staff have developed for them. They maintain interest and concentration well when choosing different resources to play with. This helps promote children's positive attitudes to learning successfully. Staff provide one-to-one support and small group sessions to promote children's social skills. All children make good progress from their starting points.

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

• Staff successfully support children to demonstrate good behaviour. Older children offer to help staff take paintbrushes outside for an activity and scrape their own plates at lunchtime. Staff ensure that children know the rules and routines well. For example, children explore pictures together, explaining the class 'raspberry rules'. Younger children are kind to each other, taking water bottles to their friends. Babies giggle and laugh as they wash their hands together. This promotes children's awareness and respect for others effectively.
• Staff successfully promote children's perseverance and resilience. For example, staff encourage children to 'try, try again' when putting their own coats on. Staff praise and high-five children when they try new foods. Babies are comforted and cuddled by caring staff, who use family photos to help them settle in. This develops children's confidence and self-esteem well.
• Staff provide children with activities that support their understanding. Older children learn words such as 'transparent' when talking about colours. Younger children listen as staff describe how to 'score' their potatoes. However, staff's support is not always consistent. This means that, at times, not all staff recognise when they could extend and enhance children's language further to promote development.
• Children with SEND are supported well. Staff know them well and adapt activities and games to meet children's individual needs effectively. For example, staff provide tailored support using children's favourite toys to encourage concentration and perseverance. Staff create individual learning plans to ensure that children make progress against their next learning steps.
• Staff plan activities to excite and engage children. They enthusiastically explain to children how to paint umbrellas. Children are incredibly eager to have a go and sustain high levels of interest, talking about rainbows. Babies delight in joining in with rhymes and stories. These activities successfully promote children's engagement.
• Children's mathematical skills are promoted well. Staff talk to children about 'segments' when counting fruits. Children are encouraged to count 'one, two, three' when pushing cars down ramps with staff. Older children enjoy playing a matching bingo game together. These activities promote children's learning effectively.
• Leaders and managers have worked hard to adapt provision and support staff's safeguarding understanding well. They prioritise staff's well-being effectively. They are passionate and proactive. They have developed strong links with external agencies, the local authority and nearby schools to support children's next learning phases. The setting raises money for local charities to support families well.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents are provided with effective feedback about their children's progress. They appreciate and value the support they are offered from staff. For example, parents talk highly of the flexible sessions to support their working patterns. Parents are invited into the setting regularly and look forward to these events. They report that their children enjoy attending and have made strong bonds with staff. They say that the setting is like a family.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to identify when they can further extend children's language and communication skills more consistently.