Kids Planet Blackrod

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders have high expectations for children's learning. They ensure that staff support children skilfully and sensitively to learn the curriculum. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), gain much new knowledge.

Children experience a calm and caring atmosphere at the nursery. For example, staff create spacious and safe areas for babies to explore and investigate their surroundings. They are attuned to the needs of very young babies and give them lots of skilful care and attention. Babies show that they feel safe, such as when they gaze into the eyes of their key person who gently cradles and sings to them. Older children are eager to take on special responsibilities, for instance to help staff to prepare potted plants to be planted outdoors. Children relish the opportunities to try challenging tasks, supported by the watchful and encouraging staff.

Staff have high expectations of how children should behave. Children learn to be respectful and kind to each other. They play happily in each other's company because of staff's expert role modelling of how to play. Children, including those with SEND, make many friends. They feel a great sense of belonging while at the nursery. Children are motivated and keen to learn.

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

• Leaders' well-designed curriculum starts with a careful focus on children's personal, social and emotional development. Leaders and staff build children's self-assurance. They support children to make relationships and help them to communicate effectively with others. Children gain a confident foundation for their future learning.
• Staff use assessment strategies to check on children's progress carefully. They plan precisely what knowledge children will learn next in the curriculum. Children's learning is well matched to their needs, development and interests.
• Staff support the needs of children with SEND well. For example, they help children with language difficulties by modelling key words and instructions to them clearly. Staff work with external experts effectively and tailor children's individual learning plans. Children with SEND experience success in their learning.
• Babies receive the very best care from highly trained staff, especially their key person. Staff are very attentive and tuned in to children's needs. For instance, they notice babies' cooing when they want attention. Babies flourish in their confidence and learning.
• Most of the time, staff support children's physical development effectively. Children climb, run, balance and swing when outdoors. Staff provide meaningful learning opportunities, such as learning to catch a ball. However, some staff are less clear about how children develop their physical skills. This affects how staff deliver the curriculum for physical development in a logical order. For example, staff focus on developing children's small muscle movements before large muscle movements. Children develop some gaps in their learning.
• Mostly, children behave well. At times, staff tidy up by themselves and do not include the children in this important task. As a result, some children wander around the nursery, unclear of what they should do and begin snatching toys from one another. At these times, children do not behave sensibly or learn well.
• Staff help children to learn important concepts. For example, they demonstrate to babies how to post wooden balls through holes and then look to see where the balls have gone. Babies delight in finding the balls under the table. They begin to learn that objects still exist, even when they cannot see them.
• Leaders and staff help children to learn about what makes them unique. For example, they provide books about the different makeup of families. Children are encouraged to bring photographs of their families from home. They learn to respect that families may be different from their own.
• Staff help children to become independent. For instance, they provide opportunities for children to practise using utensils during play to scoop and lift in readiness for serving themselves at lunchtime. Children become confident and learn how to do tasks for themselves.
• Leaders make certain that staff share information with parents and carers about their children's learning routinely. Staff build trusting relationships with parents. They offer valuable suggestions to support children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's understanding about the building blocks of knowledge that children will learn in the curriculum for physical development
• monitor more closely how staff implement the curriculum so that children behave well and remain engaged in their learning.