Kids Planet - Beamont

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Smiles and giggles are in abundance at this positive nursery. Babies greet visitors with a huge grin and are keen to show them the pictures they have created using chalks. Older children laugh and gasp as they tell each other stories about things that they have experienced and discuss what might happen if they saw a crocodile. Children of all ages have close bonds with the adults who care for them. Adults know their key children well and effectively respond to children's individual needs. Children are happy and feel safe in this calm environment.

Children benefit from many experiences that help to develop their physical skills. They strengthen the small muscles in their hands as they enjoy rolling dough, scooping up soil and pouring water. Children use outstretched arms to make shapes in the air by swirling long ribbons up, down and around. They are taught to use cutlery at mealtimes and to serve their own food using the large serving spoon. Children are making good progress and developing the skills they will need to support them in the next stage of their learning.

Children behave well. They are polite and say please and thank you without prompting. Children happily interact alongside each other, taking turns and sharing resources. They enthusiastically recall games they have played and models they have created with their friends. Children are developing positive relationships.

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

• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strength of this nursery. Staff use effective strategies to support children with SEND in their learning and to successfully engage them in the activities on offer. They help parents to make links with other professionals to ensure that all children receive the support that they need. Children with SEND form secure attachments with the key adults who support them and make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff support children to make healthy choices. They provide children with nutritious meals and encourage them to eat fruit throughout the day. Children are keen to try different foods at lunchtime and talk about different vegetables in their play as they dig for leeks in the tray of soil. Staff remind children to wash their hands regularly and thoroughly to stop the spread of germs. Children are developing their understanding of what it means to be healthy.
• Children's mathematical skills are developing well. Staff consistently model language of size, shape and quantity in their interactions with children. Children confidently apply their mathematical knowledge in their play. For example, they notice that their sandwiches have been cut into triangles and excitedly say 'we are in a circle' as they sit down for an activity. Toddlers use words such as
• 'more' as they fill containers and older children say 'we both have the same, two blue cups' as they sit down for lunch. Children demonstrate a secure understanding of early mathematical concepts.
• Staff promote children's language and communication skills. They model vocabulary to children and encourage them to repeat back the new word that has been said. Children enjoy singing nursery rhymes from memory and listening to stories being read to them. Babies independently take books to adults to read. They carefully handle books and enjoy turning the pages. Toddlers point at the pictures and say what they can see as staff share books with them. Children of all ages are becoming confident communicators and are developing a love of reading.
• Parents are complimentary about the quality of care and education provided by the nursery. Parents appreciate the advice and support given to them by the nursery and say that they are kept well informed about their children's progress. Parents are confident that their children are happy at the nursery.
• Leaders engage well with other professionals and local services who are supporting children and families. They communicate effectively and respond to any advice that is offered. This helps to promote continuity of care and education of all children.
• Staff have access to a wide range of training and professional development opportunities. They receive feedback on the quality of their practice and have regular supervisions with leaders in which they discuss children's progress. These experiences and processes help to build on staff's knowledge and skills over time. However, they are not yet effective in ensuring that staff fully understand how children learn and the sequencing of children's development. This means that staff do not consistently match their teaching and activities to children's next steps in learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's understanding of the sequencing of learning, so that interactions with children consistently build on what they know and can do.