Kiddies Kingdom

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. For example, babies concentrate as they practise scooping up the coloured rice and pouring it into the funnels, and different-size tubs. Toddlers choose a song to sing by selecting the associated prop. They enjoy singing familiar songs and do the accompanying actions with plenty of enthusiasm and excitement. Toddlers eagerly observe the caterpillars in the nursery as they change into a chrysalis. They excitedly observe a beetle that they discover on the slide outdoors.

Pre-school children enjoy a fun 'bubbly' science experiment. They listen attentively and answer questions, as they watch what happens when food colouring and salt is added to a bottle of lemonade. They look on with wonder and amazement as the lemonade fizzes, and a huge eruption of bubbles shoots high into the air.

Staff make sure that circle time provides the older children with regular structured opportunities to socialise with and learn more about their friends. During such times, older children learn about colours, shapes and numbers. They begin to connect letters to their sounds and confidently name and talk about a range of feelings. Children are happy, confident and well behaved. They develop strong relationships and attachments with staff.

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

• Staff identify precise and measurable goals for each child to achieve. They use these goals to plan learning intentions for activities and for groups of children across all the relevant areas of learning. Staff make sure that there is a good two-way exchange of information with parents about their child's development on an ongoing basis. This significantly enhances parents' knowledge about how their child's learning can be best supported at home.
• Staff link with the local school teachers and share how they implement a programme of letters and sounds activities with the children. This ensures that staff receive focused and highly effective professional development, with a particular emphasis on literacy. Consequently, children's literacy skills are rapidly increasing.
• The special educational needs coordinator quickly identifies children who may need additional help. She regularly liaises with other professionals to coordinate additional support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This means that staff have the skills they need to help these children make the best possible progress.
• The management team helps children to develop positive relationships in their community. For example, children visit the local allotment to observe the plants growing there. Staff foster this interest in growing, and children plant their own sunflower seeds in nursery to take home.
• Staff support children's social and emotional development extremely well. They enthusiastically use every interaction as an opportunity to build relationships and develop children's understanding of language.
• Staff are good role models to children. They effectively teach children how to learn to manage their emotions and feelings. The cook provides children with nourishing and well-balanced meals and snacks.
• The management team has effective systems in place to monitor staff's performance. This helps to ensure that teaching has a positive impact on all children's learning. Staff report that they receive high levels of support for their own well-being.
• The management team have a clear and ambitious vision for children's high-quality care and education. They regularly seek the views of parents and have strong partnerships with the local authority advisers and school. This helps them to identify sharply focused targets that provide a strong drive for improvement and significantly benefit all children on roll.
• Younger children have the opportunity to experience physical challenge and manage risks for themselves. For example, they climb over and manoeuvre the car tyres. They use low-level balancing and climbing equipment. However, a small group of older, more-able children do not experience physical play that is challenging and tests their limits.
• Staff provide a range of resources and activities that extend children's understanding of cultural differences and diversity. However, they do not provide enough opportunities for children who speak English as an additional language to use their home language during their play.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the already exciting outdoor physical opportunities available, so that the older, more-able children experience an even higher level of physical challenge in their play
• encourage children who speak English as an additional language to use their home language during their play even further.