Kids Planet Heywood

Inclusion: Expected standard

This setting provides care for children from diverse backgrounds. Their uniqueness is celebrated and each child is fully immersed in this inclusive provision. Staff teach children about different religions and cultures, such as Eid and Ramadan. Wider celebrations, for example Easter and Mother's Day, are also incorporated into the curriculum. Equality is promoted through a broad range of culturally rich activities and play. Everyone is truly included. This is a vibrant community, where every child is supported to thrive.

Staff quickly identify children's individual needs. They have an astute awareness of children who are facing barriers to their learning and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff use care plans to help them to deliver purposefully targeted intervention and learning opportunities. In turn, everyone is supported to make progress from their given starting points. Leaders carefully consider the most appropriate use of wider funding, such as early years pupil premium, to ensure it has the greatest possible impact on children's development.

Links with wider professionals are in place and staff reach out to these experts when needed. For instance, staff receive support from the local authority SEND support advisors, health visitors and educational psychologists. This helps to ensure children receive the support they need and deserve.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Staff use assessment effectively to check and monitor what children know and can do. They continually observe children during play and record children's notable achievements in online assessment records. This helps staff to build an accurate picture of children's learning. In turn, staff are well informed about children's skills and gaps in their development. Staff plan activities with clear purpose. This careful planning helps to ensure staff interactions are worthwhile to deepen and extend children's knowledge and skills.

Teaching to support communication and language is a notable strength. Staff help children to become confident communicators. They provide ongoing narration, speak clearly, slowly and regularly introduce new words. Babies babble and older children engage in 2-way discussion. Children make steady progress in this area of learning.

Children benefit from a broad and balanced curriculum. They experience a range of exciting activities to enthuse and challenge them. In particular, staff plan to support children's physical, language and emotional skills. Regular trips in the local community, such as library visits and farm trips, help to enrich learning experiences even more.

Leaders create and review monthly progress reports, from digital online assessment systems, to check that all children are continuing to make steady progress. This monitoring assures leaders that the curriculum design is working well. Children make progress in all areas, however, monitoring has informed leaders that teaching and learning in mathematics is less effective than other areas of development. As such, they have enrolled in an externally accredited mathematics programme to further improve outcomes for children in mathematics.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children are curious learners and enjoy their play, often giggling and laughing as they explore. Babies enjoy singing activities, copying sounds and practising their emerging language skills.

Children's physical health is very well promoted because they have opportunities to be active every day. They climb and balance on wooden blocks, roll hoops and jump over tyres. Children play chase with peers, running at speed and navigating obstacles with ease. Babies and older children benefit from separate garden spaces that have been specially designed to meet their differing needs.

Children enjoy being creative and expressing themselves during painting activities. They squeeze, manipulate and roll dough to make pretend pancakes, extending their fine motor and critical thinking skills. They use paintbrushes to make marks, developing their early writing skills.

Books are incredibly important to children, who enjoy reading and stories both outside and inside. They handle books with confidence and talk about their favourite and familiar books with great enthusiasm.

Children make all-round progress from their starting points and are well prepared for school, when the time comes. Developing the current programme of teaching for mathematics will further improve children's outcomes in this area.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Staff create a remarkably calm atmosphere. They speak quietly and are gentle in their interactions. This slower tempo creates a superbly nurturing and relaxed approach to daily routines and tasks. Children benefit from this tranquil approach to their care as they too are peaceful and composed. To illustrate, gentle music and sensory lights create a serene atmosphere, promoting children's impressive focus and engagement.

Children are spirited, happy and enjoy their time spent in this setting. They are greeted each day by friendly and familiar staff, who offer children an enthusiastic welcome. Children show that they feel a strong sense of belonging. They settle immediately and are sharply focused and ready to learn.

Leaders maintain a rigorous oversight of children's attendance by routinely tracking and monitoring children's punctuality. Any trends or persistent absences are quickly followed up, to check on children's welfare. Parents are committed to ensure children are present each day because they understand the impact this has on their children's development.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. They develop friendships, learn to play cooperatively and take turns. When they encounter disagreements, staff swiftly intervene and help children to negotiate and successfully overcome differences. Staff use a mix of different methods, dictated by age and ability, to communicate expectations. For instance, picture cards and visual timetables are used to explain boundaries to those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Overall, children are kept safe. However, lapses in staff hygiene practises compromise children's welfare. For example, babies are not supported to wash their hands prior to eating finger food. Nappy changing areas are not always cleaned sufficiently, to minimise the risk of cross contamination of germs. These inconsistencies in the implementation of hygiene procedures compromise younger children's health. Leaders have an oversight of the quality of the provision and demonstrate a positive attitude towards rapidly addressing this weakness.

Staff teach children about personal safety. This helps children to understand how to manage their own risks and protect themselves. For example, children are supported to balance and climb during outdoor play. Staff successfully teach them to hold tight and navigate with caution. This equips children with the key skills to keep themselves safe.

Children clean their teeth every day. This task is made fun and they learn how to manage their oral hygiene from an early age, promoting their health in this area of personal care.

Children who attend this setting are safe and secure. Staff are vigilant around the close supervision of children and continually check on their welfare to promote their ongoing safety.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders have a secure oversight of the strengths and areas to improve. They use a 'vision board' to publish the nursery development plans to ensure goals are visible and collectively understood by leaders, staff and parents alike. They know what they do well and have plans to develop and improve. Leaders show integrity and commitment to quickly address weaknesses, including those identified in hygiene practices and mathematics teaching. Thus, the leadership and governance of this nursery is effective.

Partnerships with parents are well established. Parents are often invited into the setting for social events and formal meetings about their children's development. Parents enjoy regular updates through daily discussions and newsletter publications. This open and effective information-sharing helps to ensure that children benefit from a joined-up approach to their care and learning. Staff comment that they enjoy working at the nursery and feel well supported. Their happiness results in a dedicate and motivated staff team, who go above and beyond to offer children suitable care and learning. Staff have access to a convenient online training system to enhance their skills further.