Kids 1st - Wansbeck

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and demonstrate they feel safe and comfortable in the care of the friendly staff team. A robust key-person system is in place, ensuring children build strong and nurturing attachments with staff from the start. Children quickly become engaged in play in one of the well-organised and exciting nursery rooms. Staff are creative in their presentation of activities, which helps to capture the children's interests.

Children benefit from enriching, varied experiences. For example, older children learn about the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Staff capitalise on their interest in dinosaurs to widen children's vocabulary. For example, children know that an archaeologist digs for dinosaur bones. Children use reference books to look for specific dinosaurs and enthusiastically explain that hot lava comes out of volcanos. Young children enjoy exploring play dough, while engaging in pretend play with their peers. They pull, pinch and stretch the dough, using their hands to make pretend pizzas. This builds strength in their fingers in preparation for early writing and their imaginative skills.

Children behave well and are respectful and considerate towards staff and peers. Staff are very intuitive and promptly respond to children's needs with kindness and empathy. They recognise children's achievements and continuously praise them for their efforts to boost their self-esteem and confidence.

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

• The management team is passionate about the setting and its ongoing improvement. They ensure that the curriculum provides appropriate challenge and is securely embedded across all areas of learning, both indoors and outdoors.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and others in receipt of additional funding, are supported well. Leaders spend this funding thoughtfully to provide appropriate resources that support children's learning. Staff work closely with external professionals, such as the local authority's SEND advisers and speech and language therapists, to ensure children have appropriate, targeted support to narrow any emerging gaps.
• Children's communication and language development are supported effectively across all age groups. Staff engage children in meaningful conversations and provide running commentaries during activities. They use clear speech and repeat simple words and phrases to secure children's understanding. Staff introduce new words to broaden older children's vocabulary, such as 'ocean' and 'archaeologist'.
• Throughout the setting, children enjoy listening to stories with staff and explore books independently. Staff provide cosy corners and comfortable spaces for children to relax in and enjoy looking at books. Babies snuggle up to staff to listen to their favourite stories. This helps to foster a love of books and early reading skills.
• Good opportunities are provided through activities and daily routines to promote children's mathematical development. Older children talk about numbers being higher or lower. They complete simple sums as they sing familiar songs. Staff use opportunities during all activities to help children learn about number recognition, sequencing, shape, and size.
• Staff patiently meet children's individual care needs and develop all children's independence. For instance, babies learn to feed themselves using a spoon from a very young age. While older children serve their own meals and pour their drinks. Staff work closely with parents to toilet train children as soon as they are ready.
• Children benefit from having nutritious meals cooked on site. There are robust procedures in place to ensure all children's dietary needs are met and that allergies and intolerances are accommodated. For example, children with food allergies have their meals served on a red plate to help clearly identify their need and to keep them safe.
• Staff say their well-being and mental health are very important. They have continuous access to regular training, such as through an online facility and face- to-face meetings. Although staff receive focused supervision sessions, leaders acknowledge that more regular monitoring of staff practice will help to support staff to raise the quality of teaching and education even further.
• Partnerships with parents are strong and respectful. They comment that staff are genuinely caring, kind and joyful, always going the extra mile. Parents say the communication is good. They feel very reassured that their children are in safe hands and have fun while learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to improve the monitoring of staff practice to help support staff to raise the quality of teaching and education even further.