Kids Planet Cheadle Royal

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are highly engaged in play, with exceptionally positive attitudes to learning. They are extremely competent at exploring and observing cause and effect. For example, children describe how flowers they have added to the water are changing its colour. Children are very confident, as skilled staff encourage them to test out their own ideas. For example, children experiment with lemons and limes and observe what happens when they squeeze them. Children are clear about what is expected of them and consistently work within the boundaries. They have an excellent understanding of the difference between right and wrong.

Children make rapid progress in their learning and development. They are very well supported by staff who have an exceptional knowledge of their developmental stages. Children receive high levels of challenge and are enthusiastic to learn more, encouraged by staff who have high expectations of children. Children thrive in the setting, demonstrating their emotional security, established through secure attachments and nurturing relationships with kind and caring staff. For example, staff are observant and notice which children are not joining in activities. They then give them a bit of extra encouragement, which supports them to participate.

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

• Leaders have an ambitious and clear vision for the nursery, which is implemented exceptionally well. This helps to ensure that there is a consistently high level of care and education. There is a clear focus on staff well-being, resulting in staff feeling valued and appreciated.
• Children engage in a wealth of challenging physical activities. For example, the sports coaches focus on supporting children to engage in daily exercise and experiences, such as yoga. They provide opportunities for children to learn new skills, such as dressing themselves. This supports children to participate in healthy lifestyles and become competent in doing things for themselves.
• There are excellent relationships with parents. Staff provide an abundance of home-learning bags supporting several areas of development. For example, parents take home activities that encourage them to use signs with their children. This helps children to be able to communicate their needs, and creates consistency in the approach used with children.
• Staff have superb opportunities for training and professional development. One example includes staff who have undertaken training in relation to working with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This helps them to have an excellent knowledge of how to provide appropriately targeted support. Therefore, the needs of children with SEND are very well met.
• Staff provide a curriculum that is highly focused on developing children's communication and language skills. They consistently introduce new words to children and provide a narrative as children play. For example, staff talk to younger children about 'parsley' as they add it to dough, and they model how to use 'pipettes' with older children. This supports children to be able to use language in a range of different situations.
• Children's behaviour is exemplary. They share resources and work together. For example, children help each by adding water to each other's containers and then thank each other for the help. Staff praise children, reinforcing the expectations. This helps children to make excellent progress in their personal, social and emotional development.
• Staff are highly skilled at adapting their teaching to extend children's understanding based on children's interests. For example, staff use children's interest in dinosaurs and enhance their knowledge by using dough, creating footprints and observing the marks they have made. This supports children to engage in play for extended periods.
• Children are impressively independent. For example, they serve their own lunch, put on their own coats and make choices about what they want to play with and how they want to play with it. This helps them to acquire the skills they will need for future learning.