Kids Planet Apley

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a warm, welcoming and inclusive environment. The relationships between staff and children are strong. Children arrive full of excitement and enthusiasm. Babies are happy and content. They quickly become busy, active and engaged in the stimulating activities staff provide. Staff are good role models who have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children consistently demonstrate good social skills and a strong understanding of the rules and boundaries in the setting. They look out for each other. For example, when someone trips over, children ask 'are you ok?'. Children invite others to join in their play. They happily wait their turn to use the wheeled toys.

Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is strong. Leaders provide swift intervention when children need extra help. They offer effective small-group sessions and one-to-one support. Staff work closely with parents, carers and other professionals, such as speech and language therapists. Children are fully included in activities in a way that is matched to their level of development. All children make good progress from their starting points. Children develop a positive attitude towards their learning. They are confident about their move on to school and ready to learn more.

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

• Leaders have made significant improvement since the last inspection. They provide a well-sequenced curriculum across all age groups that supports children to make good progress in their learning and development. Staff implement effective behaviour management strategies. The risk assessment process is effective.
• Staff receive regular supervision sessions and have access to professional development opportunities. This has raised the quality of teaching to good. However, in some rooms, the planning and implementation of the curriculum is not as strong as in other rooms.
• Throughout the nursery, children are absorbed in their play. They approach the broad range of activities that staff provide with enthusiasm and determination. However, on occasion in some rooms, staff do not always plan activities to precisely match children's learning needs.
• Staff use stories and colours to help children to recognise emotions and feelings. Children learn to self-regulate and understand that their actions may have an impact on others.
• Staff place a high priority on supporting children to develop good levels of independence and self-care. For example, babies confidently move between the indoor and outdoor environments as they choose their own play. Older children help staff to make porridge over the firepit outdoors. Afterwards, children enjoy a social occasion as they eat the porridge around the campfire. This supports children's understanding of a healthy lifestyle and nutritious foods.
• Staff provide children with plenty of opportunities for adventurous play. Staff in the baby room organise equipment to provide babies with opportunities to pull up, climb and negotiate spaces. Toddlers whizz around on wheeled toys with good control and confidence. Older children skilfully use more challenging apparatus as they learn to climb, balance and negotiate space and height.
• Staff support children's mathematical development effectively. Throughout the nursery, children learn to count and to recognise numbers and shapes. They also learn to differentiate between big and small and heavy and light.
• Staff encourage children's love of books. They read to children individually and in small groups. Staff link learning to children's favourite stories. Children look at books independently and with their friends.
• Staff provide children of all ages with a variety of opportunities to make marks and develop their small-muscle skills, in readiness for future writing. Babies squeeze wet sand, and toddlers use brushes and crayons that they can hold easily. Outdoors, children use brushes to create patterns and marks on paper and on the paving slabs. Pre-school children demonstrate good pencil control as they write for purpose during activities. Children can recognise and write some letters of their name.
• Parents are extremely happy with the nursery and say their children make good progress from their starting points. They comment on the good communication between themselves and the staff and on the good range of activities, including frequent trips out in the community.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff with planning and implementation of the curriculum so they are able to consistently support each child to build on their existing knowledge and skills
• provide staff with precisely focused professional development to raise the quality of teaching in all rooms to the highest level.