Kids' Corner Bridlington Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are welcomed warmly into the nursery by staff. They happily leave their parents at the door and quickly settle into the nursery routine. Children select from a range of interesting and age-appropriate resources. They are confident in choosing the direction of their play. Children sing songs, join in nursery rhymes and love reading books with their friends and adults. Children's early mathematical skills are supported well by staff. For example, older children count the dinosaurs, recall how many they have counted in total and place the right amount onto the number card.

Staff working with babies and younger children provide a nurturing environment where they engage children in their learning and early conversations. They respond to their babbling sounds, repeating and emphasising words that then become familiar to them. Babies keenly explore the stacking cups and shape sorters. These play opportunities help to strengthen their hand-to-eye coordination, fine motor and problem-solving skills. Toddlers demonstrate their growing confidence as they happily talk to the inspector about the photos displayed on the wall. Older children have high levels of independence and confidence, moving easily between the different rooms. This allows them to make decisions about their learning and the activities they undertake and establish good friendship groups.

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

• The management team is totally committed to the care and education of all children. They have worked well with the local authority early years advisors and responded positively to meet the actions arising from the previous inspection.
• The management team and staff know each child's needs well. This starts with the building of strong relationships with families before a child joins the nursery. Staff get to know the children, are alert to any barriers they face and the knowledge they need to learn next. Such strategies mean that those children with emerging and identified additional needs receive good support. Staff work in close partnership with parents and other professionals to put plans in place to help the children to reach their full potential.
• Overall, staff support children to develop their communication and language skills well. For example, they ask questions to encourage children to talk about their play. Staff build on babies' and toddlers' communication skills, introducing new words while they play. However, while most of the older children regularly voice their ideas and knowledge, staff do not always consider how to encourage those that are less confident to talk and express themselves.
• Staff provide good opportunities for children to develop their literacy skills. For instance, children listen to stories regularly and talk about the characters they see in the books. Staff bring stories to life, encouraging children to re-enact and use props to extend their learning. Staff encourage children to make marks using a range of materials to help develop their early writing skills.
• Children become independent as they select their toys, manage their lunch boxes and help themselves to drinks. They are provided with a good range of balanced and nutritious snacks which helps to promote the importance of a healthy diet and lifestyle. A good variety of outings in the locality are used to help develop children's understanding of the world they live in and help to support their physical development.
• Children behave well. Staff support them to talk about how they are feeling and to find solutions to problems together. Staff model how to use good manners, share and take turns. Children quickly respond by showing the desired behaviour themselves. They are consistently engaged in their learning. Even the youngest children know the routines to follow, which makes them feel secure and develops their confidence as learners.
• The manager completes regular supervision meetings with staff to review their performance, well-being and children's progress, to ensure that children receive good-quality education and care. She consistently evaluates the ongoing performance of the nursery and considers the views of staff and parents. Staff feel they are managed well, receive good support and are given meaningful professional development opportunities.
• Parents report that they are very happy with their children's progress at the nursery. They say that staff are 'beyond fantastic', very supportive and help them to understand how they can extend their children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance opportunities for children who are less confident in speaking, to talk and express themselves.