Kids Kingdom Daycare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their day at the setting. Staff create an exciting and welcoming environment, which captures the children's interests. They present activities in an imaginative way and encourage children to explore and adapt the resources to suit their interests and needs. Children guide some of their play and learning while being effectively supported by staff, who know them well and recognise their differing learning styles. The setting is situated in a soft-play centre. Children have good opportunities to extend their physical development as they generally begin their day by accessing the soft-play resources. They enthusiastically run up and down the slopes and negotiate challenging equipment. Staff play alongside the children, helping them to master the challenges.

Children are well behaved and kind towards each other. They understand the setting's rules and boundaries and follow the staff's directions well. Staff use effective strategies to help children to manage their emotions. They encourage them to talk about how they feel, using visual prompts to help express their emotions. Children help to clear the resources away at key times during the day, such as in preparation for playing in the garden. They learn about taking turns and sharing as staff gently remind them and help them to respect each other.

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

• The provider, manager and staff have worked hard since the last inspection to address the weaknesses. The manager and staff have undertaken a wide range of training to help them to develop their practice, including behaviour management training. They have worked closely with the local authority for support and further training opportunities. The manager has developed her monitoring strategies to provide staff with more effective support and coaching. Staff now recognise the importance of helping children to become independent.
• Parents who contributed towards the inspection comment on how well their children settle at the setting. They speak highly of the staff and the thorough information they receive daily from their child's key person. Parents state that they feel confident that their children are safe at the setting.
• The management team has clear recruitment and ongoing supervision arrangements in place. They carry out appropriate checks to ensure that staff are suitable. New staff receive a thorough induction to help them to gain confidence and secure their understanding of the setting's procedures. Effective supervision with the manager helps staff to review any training needs. The provider also meets with staff to discuss their well-being and consider further ways to support them.
• Staff know the children very well. They spend valuable time speaking to parents about the children's home lives, siblings, pets and interests. Key persons use this information to inform their planning and to put in place strategies to help them to close any gaps in the children's development. For example, staff regularly take children out for trips and outings in the local community to enhance their learning experiences.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are effectively supported. The manager helps parents to secure additional funding and uses it effectively to provide necessary resources and support for those children who require it.
• Children explore learning in an outdoor environment when they use the setting garden. They enjoy exploring water, mud and other mediums in their play. Staff use some appropriate language to enhance the children's learning, such as 'pour, fill' and 'squirt', as they use containers and tubes in the water tray. They roll hoops to each other, running after them as they trundle past them.
• Staff recognise the value of enabling children to explore and experiment. For example, children wanting to make dough fetch water from a jug to add to flour. However, when too much water is added, staff encourage the children to describe what it looks like and whether it is too runny to be dough. Some staff are less proficient at asking clear questions and allowing children time to consolidate their learning. They ask many questions in quick succession, but do not always follow up on them to test the children's knowledge and extend their thinking.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's questioning skills and improve their understanding of when to give children time to think to consolidate their ideas.