Kids Planet Attleborough

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are confident and have fun. Most are eager to come into the nursery, where staff greet them, and they are excited to see their friends. The nursery has separate gardens for each age group of children, which are vast and spacious. All children enjoy lots of fresh air outdoors, where their physical skills are challenged and tested. This helps to support children's health and well-being. It also helps to support children who prefer to learn outdoors to engage in activities, which sparks an interest and curiosity for learning.

Staff support older children to take risks safely in their play. Children build a platform to jump off. They learn to take turns and line up patiently while their friends jump off onto the ground. It becomes a competition, and children start to add twists and turns while they jump. Younger children explore sand and/or water, which has been coloured red. Staff teach them how to build sandcastles. They show children that sand has to be damp or slightly wet to stick together. Children show their delight when a sandcastle is revealed. Staff praise children when they have shown good learning or good listening, and this helps to build their self-esteem. After Spanish lessons, children proudly show off their stickers they have received as a reward.

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

• Leaders and staff plan and implement a curriculum that is sequenced so children continually build and enhance their skills. There is a strong focus on children's personal, emotional and social development. However, there have been several new babies who have not yet settled and are quite fractious. Staff are kind, caring and very attentive, but the impact of babies crying causes a ripple effect and affects the emotions of the others. While leaders and staff are flexible in settling-in sessions to try and meet the individual needs of the babies, this has not yet been successful.
• There is a strong focus on communication and language throughout the nursery. Staff use a communication tool to assess children's abilities. They talk to children to promote discussions and allow them time to practise their sentence building skills. Children enjoy singing songs and listening to stories as staff read to them. However, sometimes the younger children do not hear enough language to help them understand what is happening. For example, at snack time, children are not always told why they need to wait and that they will get snack when it is their turn. This means they do not understand when they are directed to other activities until there is space available.
• Parents are complimentary about the nursery. They particularly like the outdoor space and the amount of time their children spend outdoors. Parents receive verbal feedback daily, and more in-depth information on the progress their children make in their learning via an online app. Help is also available for parents so they can continue to support their children's learning at home.
• Staff receive regular supervision sessions and have access to professional training, which helps to keep the quality of teaching consistently good. Reflective evaluation is completed after training. Leaders have identified that more support is needed in the baby room to ensure the curriculum is consistently implemented. This will help babies engage better in purposeful and meaningful play.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. Good partnerships with external agencies mean that children are identified early, and appropriate support and funding are swiftly obtained. This means that children make the progress they are capable of. Staff support children with SEND to have the same opportunities to access the curriculum alongside their friends. This helps to give all children a sense of belonging.
• Children who speak English as an additional language are supported by staff, who use online resources. These resources show and play the word in children's home language and in English. They also have a picture for reference.
• Staff promote children's health and self-care skills well. There is a good focus on toilet training where appropriate. Lunchtime is a social occasion as staff sit with children to eat their lunch. Children benefit from freshly prepared healthy meals and snacks, such as watermelon, apples and pineapple.
• Children have lots of opportunities to be independent. Younger pre-school children serve their own lunch. Children can choose which activities they want to do. They can paint, draw, and use scissors to cut and make creations. Staff teach children early mathematical concepts, such as different shapes or colours. Children are gaining the skills they need to make their transition to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider how to improve the organisation of new starters into the baby room so there is less impact on their emotional well-being
• strengthen the curriculum for communication and language for younger children so they consistently hear language to help them gain a more in-depth understanding of what is happening during daily routines
• support staff to consistently implement the curriculum in the baby room so that children settle and engage in purposeful play.