Kids Inc Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are safe and settled in this welcoming environment. They develop close and trusting bonds with the staff, who have a caring and friendly manner. Children arrive happily and settle well into the routine. They build strong friendships and enjoy playing with one another. Children have plenty of opportunities to develop their social skills. Young babies share toys and sing songs together. Toddlers play cooperatively, such as taking turns when playing games. They throw, kick and pass the ball to one another. Toddlers clap and praise each other as they do this. Pre-school children role play with one another, using metal buckets as drums, and sing familiar songs.

All children are curious and motivated to learn. They have positive attitudes to their learning. There are clear rules, boundaries and routines in place to support them. Children show respect for their environment and others. For example, they tidy up their toys before moving on to the next activity. Staff interact warmly during care routines, such as nappy changes and handwashing. They make eye contact and sing songs. At sleep and rest times, staff reassure children by patting and stroking them. This helps children to feel safe and secure. Children enjoy playing outdoors and develop their physical skills by running, jumping and climbing.

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

• The curriculum is well planned and sequenced. Staff regularly observe and track children's progress. They plan activities based on children's interests, what children know and what they can do. Staff identify any gaps in children's learning and put appropriate support in place. Children are well prepared for the next stages of their learning. Overall, the curriculum is ambitious. However, some staff do not take opportunities to further challenge the most able children.
• All children develop their independence skills very well. Babies learn to be mobile and use low-level furniture to climb and walk safely. All children develop self-independence skills at mealtimes by feeding themselves. Older children serve themselves using spoons, forks and tongs. Children are able to select resources independently. Staff talk to children about risks and teach them how to manage them. For example, children understand the importance of wiping up spillages from the floor and putting on sun cream. They discuss why this is important to keep them safe.
• Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour and act as good role models. They help children to manage their emotions by talking to them and encouraging them to think about their feelings. Children share that they are happy at nursery but sometimes miss their parents. Staff reassure children that it is OK to be happy, sad or angry, and it is good to talk about their emotions.
• Leaders and staff have high expectations of children and work hard to achieve the best outcomes for the children they care for. They work with parents to address any concerns with children's learning and development. All children, including those with special educational needs and or/disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress in relation to their starting points in learning.
• Children learn about the community and the world around them through role play, books, songs and telling stories. Staff use these opportunities to ask open questions that promote children's thinking. For example, when children are mixing colours, they discuss that pink and blue are colours for everyone. Children experiment mixing red, blue and green paints together and recall it makes the colour brown. Staff discuss the role of firefighters and how they help to keep us safe.
• The manager and leaders have worked hard to address the weaknesses identified at the last inspection. They work closely with staff to support their learning through training and development. For example, all staff have attended training on supporting children's emotional well-being. This has had an impact on children's ability to manage their emotions.
• Parents talk positively about the setting. They discuss they can see how their children have progressed since starting, such as with their social skills and speech. Leaders have introduced an online system to share information. Parents like this and have commented that it has brought them closer to sharing information on their children. However, staff do not consistently give all parents opportunities to contribute to their children's learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to further challenge and build on children's learning
• strengthen communication and partnerships with parents so that they are able to further contribute to their children's learning.