Kids In Bloom @ West Derby

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and content at this nursery. They behave very well and are eager to join in with the activities provided. Children learn about the importance of being kind and following the rules and boundaries. For instance, staff remind them that it is polite to listen to one another during group activities. Due to COVID-19, parents no longer routinely enter the setting. Children have adapted well to this change and enter the nursery confidently. Dedicated staff put children at the heart of everything they do. Kind and thoughtful interactions help children to feel safe and secure.

Staff promote children's physical skills well. They provide activities, such as dough play, to strengthen children's small muscles in preparation for early writing. Older children learn to correctly grip and use tweezers to collect autumn leaves. Younger children are excited to splash in the rain while playing outdoors. They giggle in delight as they remove their hoods to feel the rain land on their hair. Staff talk to children about how this makes their hair wet. Children are beginning to learn about the simple concepts of wet and dry.

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

• Leaders are passionate about providing quality care for children and families. They plan a curriculum that is unique and considerate of children's individual needs. Robust procedures are in place for monitoring children's progress. This means that any gaps in learning are swiftly identified and addressed. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress in their learning.
• Overall, staff implement the curriculum well. They generally have a good understanding of what children already know and can do, and what they need to learn next. Staff frequently ask questions to test out what children can remember and give lots of time for them to think and respond. However, on some occasions, story time is not well thought out. For instance, staff do not always consider children's age and stage of development when reading books with a lot of words. This means that some children lose interest and become distracted from learning.
• Leaders make good use of additional funding to improve children's communication and language development. For instance, children who may be at risk of falling behind are taught sign language by an outside professional. This helps them to develop alternative ways of communicating and narrows this gap in learning.
• Children benefit from healthy and nutritious meals. Staff talk to them about the benefits of vegetables and the impact these have on the body. For instance, staff teach children about the different vitamins in carrots. However, they do not consistently teach children about good hygiene practices, such as handwashing before snack.
• The key-person approach is well embedded. Child-led settling-in sessions and seamless transitions between rooms help children to form strong bonds with staff. This develops their confidence and self-esteem. Children listen carefully to instructions from staff and have a positive attitude to learning.
• Children's understanding of their community and the world around them is widely promoted. They go on 'bear hunts' in the forest, exercise their large muscles in the park and visit the local greengrocer. Children learn how to take care of the environment during litter picking outings. Building strong links with the community is firmly embedded into the ethos of the nursery.
• Arrangements for supervision, coaching and mentoring are in place. Staff receive an in-depth induction when they first start and access regular training. However, the performance feedback they receive is sometimes inconsistent. It does not specifically focus on raising the quality of education to the highest level. For example, some staff do not extend activities or ask children questions that challenge their learning further.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff regularly share information with parents to support children's learning at home. Parents comment that the nursery are 'doing a brilliant job'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the implementation of story time to help to keep children engaged in learning for longer periods of time
• support staff to consistently promote good hygiene practices and teach children why this is important
• provide staff with more accurate performance feedback to raise the quality of education to an even higher level.