Kids Planet Haslington

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are extremely happy at nursery and are excited when they arrive. They have formed close bonds with the staff in this warm, welcoming and well-resourced setting. Children are given the opportunity to make their own choices in their play, and the pre-school committee, made up of pre-school children, make decisions on what they want in their environment.

Leaders have created a strong intent of their curriculum, and all staff are aware and support this. Children show enthusiasm in their learning. For example, children excitedly explore bugs in a messy tray, looking at their different characteristics through magnifying glasses.

Children are very well behaved. Staff role model how to treat others and are calm and caring with children. Babies explore through their senses in messy-play activities, using water mixed with cornflour and sand, for example. Toddlers develop their understanding of the natural world. They learn about caring for flowers and exploring arctic animals in ice. Pre-school children have a vast outdoor area where they can explore natural resources freely. They can be found digging for treasure with real spades and swinging on the tree swing.

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

• The management team are passionate about their role. They thrive on improving the nursery and creating better outcomes for children. Leaders are adapting their outdoor area to provide more open-ended opportunities for children so they can develop their skills through natural resources. Children are consulted on this and have provided ideas. This gives children a sense of belonging and makes them feel valued.
• Children with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are extremely well supported. Staff complete regular reviews of the children's progress and keep parents informed. Several children receive one-to-one support, which is well managed, and staff know the children well. The special educational needs coordinator understands the importance of children achieving their goals and has supported staff by carrying out training on supporting children with SEND.
• The key-person system is strong. Staff know the children well and are secure about what they want children to learn and achieve. Transitions between the different rooms is well supported by the staff, and this is shown by how knowledgeable staff are about children, even when they have only just taken over as their new key person. Where possible leaders will move staff with their key-person group to provide a familiar face for children, to support the settling-in process.
• An intent of the curriculum is to support children's language development. Most staff provide good-quality interactions for children. Staff sing regularly with babies, interacting with them through facial expressions. Older children are asked open-ended questions to challenge them to use their thinking skills. However, this is not consistent with all staff throughout the nursery. On occasion some staff do not ask questions that provide children with the opportunities to display a higher level of thinking and use their problem-solving abilities.
• Maths is well embedded throughout the nursery. Staff incorporate recognition of numbers and counting into the children's everyday experiences. Staff introduce mathematical concepts and language through activities, such as play dough and picking tomatoes in their vegetable patch.
• Parents are enormously positive about the support and communication they receive from the setting and express how their children's individual needs are met. They state that their children have settled well, and from their time at the nursery they are well prepared for school.
• Managers provide regular supervision meetings for staff, and these are carried out more regularly with some staff to support their well-being. Some staff are aware of their progression and what they need to achieve. However, other staff are not as clear on their next steps, and these are not precise enough to focus on areas of development which will enhance children's learning further. This has an impact on high-quality teaching being consistent throughout the nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen professional development opportunities for staff, focusing their next steps more precisely to provide a consistently high level of education for all children throughout
• enhance teaching skills so all staff consistently provide children with opportunities, through interactions, to display higher levels of thinking and to use their problem-solving abilities.