Kids Inc Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop strong relationships with the caring and attentive staff. They show that they are happy and secure in this warm and welcoming environment. Children enjoy their time and benefit from an extensive range of rich and stimulating resources. They show high levels of interest in the carefully planned activities and make good progress. Staff have high expectations for children's learning and behaviour. As a result, children behave well and show that they are curious and motivated learners.

Babies are given high levels of attention and encouragement as they play. When babies paint, staff teach them the names of different colours and shapes as they explore stamps and rollers. Babies also delight in reading stories and learning about a variety of different animals. Toddlers' imaginations are nurtured when exploring sensory trays, play dough and role-play resources. They clap and laugh as they sing and dance. Staff are playful in their interactions and boost children's confidence and self-esteem effectively.

Pre-school children are highly inquisitive learners. Staff skilfully support their development and help them to make connections to their prior knowledge. For instance, children participate in fun rhyming games to support their language skills. They also show fascination when they learn about the solar system, and discuss the different planets and the sun.

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

• Staff are knowledgeable about how children learn and successfully plan activities to close any gaps in their learning. The curriculum is well sequenced for the different-age children and effectively meets their individual needs. Children are flourishing and show a positive attitude towards their learning.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are given high levels of support. Partnership working with other professionals is very strong. Staff collaboratively work on shared targets and goals for children. As a result, children benefit from a highly consistent approach to their learning.
• Parents speak highly of staff, and value the care and education that their children receive. They state that their children love attending and staff know them well. Parents express that communication is good. They comment that staff have managed the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic well and they feel involved in their children's development.
• Staff place a high priority on making the settling-in process as smooth as possible when new children join. This is evident when staff find out about children's interests and needs, and plan activities accordingly. Leaders and staff acknowledge the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic and have made some good adaptations to their practice. For instance, they conduct settling-in sessions in the garden, in order for parents to get to know staff and the routines.
• Children have excellent opportunities to learn outdoors in the attractive and inviting garden. For instance, they enjoy planting and growing activities, exploring dinosaurs and leaves, and digging and building in the sand. As a result, children have an increasing knowledge of nature and the world in which they live.
• Children form good emotional bonds with staff through an effective and consistent key-person system. Staff frequently acknowledge children's efforts and give them praise. Children receive good levels of support to understand the behaviour that is expected of them. As a result, they learn to share and take turns.
• Children's personal development is supported extremely well. They have regular discussions with staff about what makes them unique, and frequently learn about other children's lives that are different to their own.
• Leaders give high attention to and place a focus on promoting staff's well-being. For instance, staff have access to a good range of professional development opportunities to help them to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. In addition, there are good systems in place for regular supervision and coaching sessions.
• Staff's teaching is generally good. However, on occasions, when younger children play, some staff do not maximise spontaneous opportunities that arise to promote children's language skills to the highest level.
• Overall, children's needs are met effectively. However, staff do not consistently plan transition and mealtimes effectively. For example, some children wait for unnecessarily long periods of time, which hinders their their full engagement.
• Leaders and staff regularly evaluate the provision and have made a number of positive improvements since their last inspection. They show an ongoing commitment and motivation to continue to enhance their practice and skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen some staff's teaching skills in order to promote children's language skills to the highest level
• review the organisation of mealtimes to ensure that children do not have to wait for unnecessarily long periods of time before eating, in order to promote their engagement.