Kiddies Playhouse Tipton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish in this friendly and welcoming nursery. Most children separate from their parents with ease. They are eager to come to nursery and arrive ready to start their day. Staff are warm and caring towards children. They comfort children who need it, which helps them to settle in quickly. Older children confidently approach and speak to new people, demonstrating their sense of security.

Children benefit from a variety of well-planned activities and experiences that take account of their interests and stages of learning. Babies practise their physical skills using soft-play equipment. They are supported by staff to learn how to sit, crawl, climb and walk safely. Two-year-old children develop their early mathematical knowledge through creative activities. They fill and empty different-sized containers with water. When painting, staff model counting the marks they make, which introduces them to numbers. Older children develop skills to assist them with their eventual transition to school. At lunchtime, they wait patiently for their turn to collect their own meal. They use different utensils to serve their own food, and they carry their own plate back to their table. Children kindly give their friends their water bottles, showing their understanding for other children's belongings.

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

• Leaders and managers are ambitious about children's early education. They have designed a curriculum that aims to gradually build on children's knowledge and skills over time. Staff share their vision and implement this successfully. Consequently, children make good progress in their development and become well prepared for the next stage in their learning.
• Children's communication and language development is promoted well by staff. Babies enjoy singing familiar songs and rhymes, using some simple words and gestures. Staff constantly talk to children. They use open-ended questioning so that children become able to hold conversations. Consequently, older children have a broad vocabulary and are able to articulate themselves clearly.
• Children develop a keen interest in reading from an early age. They independently select books they would like to read, and staff sit down to share these with them. Staff take time to check children's understanding of the story. Children are exposed to a wider range of books through regular visits to a mobile library.
• Leaders and managers are proactive in evaluating the quality of the provision. Most staff are skilful teachers. They plan and provide a wide range of interesting and challenging activities for children to keep them busy throughout their day. Leaders and managers act swiftly to tackle some minor inconsistencies in staff's teaching skills through targeted training and professional development opportunities. However, some training has not yet been embedded to increase all staff's teaching skills consistently to the highest level.
• Children generally behave well. Older children take turns in playing with equipment and behave respectfully towards each other. When younger children throw toys in frustration, staff calmly redirect their attention and show them how to use these appropriately. This supports children to understand the expectations for their behaviour.
• There is effective support in place for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff use a range of assessment tools to identify any gaps or delays in children's learning at the earliest opportunity. They work closely with other professionals to implement support for children who need it. This helps all children to participate in nursery life and reach their potential.
• Parents speak positively about the nursery. They say that their children are happy and enjoy their time there. Parents are pleased with the regular feedback and information they receive about their child's care and learning, which helps to provide continuity at home.
• Children's health and well-being are prioritised by staff. Children follow sound hygiene routines from a young age. They are supported to wash their hands independently before snack or mealtimes. Children benefit from ample opportunities for fresh air and exercise. They practise using steps to access a slide and negotiate space safely when riding on bikes or scooters.
• Staff spend time getting to know every child. They gather information about children's individual routines and care needs. Staff observe children to find out about their interests and stages of development. However, the nursery does not yet make full use of information from parents to fully support all children to settle in and begin their learning as quickly as possible.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• monitor the impact of training and professional development opportunities that are provided for staff to increase the quality of teaching even further
• review the arrangements for new children settling into the nursery to fully support their emotional well-being, learning and development.