Kids Planet Dudley Hill

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children build positive relationships with one another and demonstrate good social skills. They create their own play, including hide-and-seek games. Children close their eyes and count to ten while their friends hide around different areas of the garden. They excitedly laugh as they are discovered. Children demonstrate good physical skills. For example, they participate in dancing sessions and ride around on bikes and scooters. Older children are supported to learn how to use skipping ropes. Staff show children how to swing the rope then jump in time as the rope hits the ground. Children show confidence and determination as they persevere until they succeed. Children behave well and show respect towards others. They listen and respond to given instructions. Staff support children to understand a range of different emotions. For instance, children join in with activities, such as creating different facial expressions using play dough. Children talk to staff about what makes them feel happy.

Children benefit from a curriculum that supports them to prepare well for their next stage in learning. Teachers from local schools visit children at nursery to help establish a positive relationship with them. Children develop good levels of independence and participate in tasks appropriate for their age and stage of development. For instance, they help to set tables for mealtimes.

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

• Leaders place a strong emphasis on promoting staff well-being. Supervision sessions and staff meetings are held regularly. Leaders regularly communicate with staff. They offer coaching, support and mentoring to help staff understand their roles and responsibilities. Staff show a good understanding of the setting's policies and procedures and where to seek help and support if needed.
• Babies participate in a range of sensory-play activities. Staff provide children with edible ingredients to enable children to use all of their senses to explore. Children spend long periods of time playing with toy animals in the water tray. Staff count and use mathematical language as children play. For instance, they introduce words such as 'full, empty, heavy and light.'
• Children show a keen interest in books and pay attention as staff read familiar stories to them. Staff introduce words to children to help build their vocabulary. This helps to promote children's communication and language skills.
• Leaders offer regular emails and online information to parents as well as daily feedback. Parents share positive views about the care that their children receive. They comment on how quickly their children have settled at the setting. However, some parents do not always know what their children are learning at the setting. They comment that they would like to know about their children's development to help them to prepare for their eventual move to school.
• Children follow good hygiene practices. They learn to wash their hands before mealtimes. Children have a good relationship with the nursery cook and are enthusiastic when they see her. She engages them in discussions, and the children are provided with a range of healthy choices. Children learn about the importance of following a healthy lifestyle.
• Children learn about mixing colours and show excellent memory recall. For instance. they talk about the different colours they used when they designed their sunset pictures. Children combine green, blue and white paint to recreate their own versions of sea water. They look at pictures from story books and look closely at a starfish. Children talk about their own holidays and trips where they have visited the sea. However, staff ask too many questions in quick succession. They do not provide children with enough time to process their own thoughts and build on their imaginative and creative-thinking skills.
• Leaders show that they have a good vision for the setting. There has been a recent transition between providers and staff are in the process of making some new positive changes to the setting. This is working very well. Leaders are able to identify the strengths of the setting and what is needed to make further improvements. They gather parents' and children's views on helping to evaluate the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on partnership working with parents and extend ways for them to help continue their child's learning at home
• allow children time to think about their responses to questions asked and provide further challenge to children's play to support their curiosity and imaginative skills.