Kids Planet Ashton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel happy and secure at the setting. They come in happily and are greeted by approachable, friendly staff. This makes the children and parents feel safe. Children settle quickly and are eager to explore the room. When children are a little unsettled, staff use effective strategies to ease children into the day. For example, they provide reassurance and allow children time to settle in before taking off their jackets.

Staff support the children by narrating children's play and ask appropriate questions. This extends children's learning. Children of all ages and stages greet visitors warmly. For example, older children eagerly show visitors what they are eating and talk about their new bags in preparation for school. Babies demonstrate they are settled as they run up and wave. Children in all rooms show a love for stories and songs. Children are seen enjoying books with and without adults. This is supported by staff who eagerly encourage children to share books and sing songs throughout the day.

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

• Learning at the setting is led by children's interests and curiosity. For example, children in one pre-school room access lots of art and craft activities, while in another pre-school room, they complete mark-making activities. However, this means that the curriculum is not always planned and sequenced coherently for all children. The curriculum does not build on what children know and can do clearly enough.
• Staff know individual children's targets. They regularly share assessments of children with parents. However, the curriculum is not aways ambitious for all children. For example, staff talk confidently about children's next steps but do not always link learning to help children to meet them. This means that the curriculum does not always effectively challenge children at an individual level.
• Staff address behaviour concerns swiftly and effectively when needed. For example, staff are quick to remind children to use 'kind hands'. Where appropriate, they redirect children. This means that children's behaviour is quickly addressed, and issues do not have the time or opportunity to escalate.
• Parent partnership at the setting is strong. Parents talk highly of the setting and its strong communication methods. They share that daily handovers are detailed and that 'nothing is too much for the staff'. In addition, they share that staff are so approachable that children want to greet all staff in the mornings on drop off. This shows that children and parents feel secure, safe and valued by setting staff. This makes drop off and collection a positive experience for all.
• The setting identifies children who need additional support early. It works closely with parents to make appropriate referrals in a timely manner. Staff put targets in place in the interim and self-reflect on what they offer children. This means that children make progress towards their own targets in these instances.
• Leaders consider children and staff well-being at the setting. Children access mindfulness meditation sessions. Staff take part in 'Well-being Wednesdays', which include events such as shared lunches and activities. This promotes and supports a positive culture within the setting.
• Leaders monitor and carry out supervision of staff. They attend staff meetings and carry out room leader meetings. However, supervisions are not always precise and reflective. For example, leaders identify strengths for both teaching and learning yet do not pick up on areas for improvement, such as addressing misconceptions and asking children critical questions. This leads to staff not thinking critically enough about children's practice and how they can further improve practice to support children learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the use of assessment to plan learning that is closely linked to individual children's needs
• enhance the curriculum so that it builds on children's learning over time
• develop supervision to support staff to continually develop their practice.