Kiddiecare Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff know the importance of building relationships with all children to ensure that they feel safe and happy to settle into nursery. When children need additional support, staff use signs and actions to help them understand what is happening next. Staff use children's home language, alongside English, so that children feel secure and valued. Parents share that they are confident in the care provided as they notice these strong relationships.

Staff can identify where children are in their learning which supports them to plan engaging activities with clear learning intentions. This helps children to make good progress. For example, children are engaged as they strengthen their finger muscles by using tweezers to collect resources of different colours. Parents comment on the progress their children are making, particularly in their speech and language skills.

Children behave well. They help to tidy away toys and sit down at the table at mealtimes. In the garden, staff model language to children so they can learn how to engage others in their play. This supports them to develop relationships with their peers.

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

• Leaders and staff have improved their safeguarding knowledge since the last inspection. The team have accessed online training and external courses in staff meetings. Leaders and staff continue to work closely with the local authority to maintain their knowledge and skills. Staff express confidence as they have the knowledge to fulfil their role.
• Staff organise and plan learning that enables their key children to build on their knowledge and skills. They review children's learning and complete the required assessments, such as the progress check for children aged between two and three years. However, there are some parts of the curriculum planning that are not as focused on what children need to learn and this impacts on each child's individual sequence of learning.
• Leaders continually support staff so that they are able to provide opportunities for children's learning. For example, staff engage children in activities to learn about feelings. Children listen carefully to the story 'The Colour Monster' and staff engage them in conversations around what may make them happy or sad.
• Children have daily access to the outdoors; they are energetic and physically active. For example, children practise their balancing skills and move in a range of ways with their friends. Leaders work with parents to ensure that children are getting a balanced diet. At mealtimes, staff talk with children about healthy foods. This helps children to develop healthy lifestyles.
• Staff model being kind and polite. Staff set clear boundaries and expectations for children, such as using 'kind hands' and hanging their coat on their peg. However, not all staff enforce these consistently, which can be confusing for children. In addition, staff do not always extend these strategies to help children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to understand what is right and wrong.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) makes effective links with external professionals. Leaders monitor additional funding to ensure they are accessing resources that help reduce gaps in children's learning. Staff support children with SEND by using communication strategies, which, overall, meet the individual needs and stage of each child. For example, they sing songs at tidy-up time and to ensure children move safely between the nursery and the garden.
• Parents know about their child's development through regular information sharing in both face-to-face meetings and on the online app. Parents share that staff help them to access on online training and give them activity ideas to support their child's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to review curriculum planning to ensure that it is more focused on each child's sequence of learning
• build on all staff's awareness of providing consistent guidance to children to support their understanding of boundaries and learning expectations.