Kids Planet Great Boughton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create exciting learning environments that children explore with curiosity. They skilfully play alongside the children, modelling play and extending learning. Leaders have designed an aspirational curriculum that places high importance on supporting children to be active. Staff arrange low-level furniture to encourage babies to pull up to standing as they play 'peepo' in mirrors. Children spend lots of time outdoors in the fresh air. They confidently climb up steps and giggle as they use their strength to push their friends along in wheelbarrows. Children show high levels of engagement and make good progress in their learning.

Children develop positive behaviours as they are supported by staff who are calm and consistent in their expectations. Children follow the established routines and respond respectfully to instructions from staff. Children who require some support to manage their emotions are provided with cuddles and reassurance. Children play cooperatively together as they initiate games and remind each other to take turns. As older children find a long tube, they work together to carry this around the garden and take turns to talk to each other through the tube. They scream with excitement as they hear their friend's voices. Children have formed strong bonds with the staff and each other at this nurturing nursery.

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

• Leaders accurately evaluate the quality of the education and care provided. They have recently introduced new systems for staff supervision and coaching. Although these systems are in their infancy, they are having a positive impact on the setting. Staff that have received this incisive feedback demonstrate extremely strong practice. However, not all staff have received this targeted support. This results in some minor weaknesses in the implementation of some policies such as the hygiene practices.
• Staff provide many fun experiences to support children's fine motor skills. Babies make marks and grasp their favourite toy animals out of foam. Older children use their hand muscles and imagination as they squeeze and roll dough into creations such as volcanos. They use a range of mark making equipment to draw and paint pictures. Older children talk with pride about the marks that they make. Children become eager mark makers.
• Staff instil a love of books, stories and rhymes. Young children instigate story telling. They take their story books to the seating area for adults to read to them, while others cuddle up with staff outside to read their favourite book with their friends. Consequently, children develop their language structures and vocabulary well and are becoming confident communicators.
• Children ooze confidence as they hang up their belongings and serve their own meals. They proudly exclaim 'I did it!' as they put on their own coats. Children talk about being brave as they touch worms for the first time. They giggle as they wriggle on their hands. Staff place high importance on supporting children to be independent and self-assured.
• Staff have a good knowledge of what each child knows and what they need to learn next. Staff use their knowledge of children's interests to support their learning. For example, children who pretend to be superheroes use 'superhero' hands to count 4 fingers. However, when planning activities staff do not do this as effectively. They focus on the nursery priorities rather than building on children's specific next steps. This said, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are provided with specific activities to meet their individual needs.
• Leaders and staff place great value on forming relationships with parents and carers. Their effective communication strategies ensures that parents have a good understanding of their children's learning and development. Parents are extremely complementary of the love and care their children receive from the friendly staff team. Partnership with parents is strong.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to embed the coaching and mentoring of staff to support all staff to consistently implement the setting's polices
• support staff to refine the planning of activities so there is a sharper focus on the intentions for children's learning.