Kids Planet Kenton Park

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The nursery has an ambitious curriculum, which aspires for children to develop a broad understanding of the world around them and prepare them as they move on to school. Children learn about the needs of others in the community and in response, decide to create a foodbank collection area. Staff actively promote children's voice. For example, children in pre-school room have the opportunity to represent their peers on a committee. This teaches children their voices are valued and important.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour in the nursery. Staff embed clear and consistent routines, which support children's positive behaviours and attitudes to learning. Children understand and follow these expectations happily. For instance, children learn to line up smartly after outside play before carefully walking up the stairs to return to their rooms. Staff sing songs to remind children to hang up their coats. Children cheerfully join in with these familiar songs while practising their independence skills.

Staff plan activities to reflect children's interests and fascinations, This helps to stimulate and engage children in their learning. For instance, when babies show a deep interest in baby dolls, staff use this interest to support the curriculum for personal, social and emotional development. They provide children with opportunities to learn about care routines for babies, such as bathing and cleaning the dolls. Babies are highly engaged in this play.

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

• Staff use their knowledge of the community, as well as children's unique interests, to plan experiences which underpin the curriculum. For example, children grow vegetables, such as pumpkins. This is particularly beneficial for children who do not have gardens of their own.
• Children demonstrate a clear love of reading in this nursery. They delight in sharing books together in cosy spots inside and outside. Children explore a range of textures in a sensory tray, linked to a favourite story and confidently recite phrases they have learned and remembered from the book.
• The overall curriculum intentions are matched appropriately to the age and stage of children. For example, staff support babies and toddlers to develop fundamental knowledge and skills relating to their physical, social and communication development. Pre-school children receive more focused support in wider areas of learning, such as mathematics. Through rigorous self-evaluation, leaders have identified that to raise the quality of education even further, there is a need to improve the sequencing of the literacy curriculum. This shows that leaders pay close attention to the quality of the nursery and that they are keen to continually improve.
• Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills. They engage well in conversation with children and teach them aspirational vocabulary. For example, staff use words such as 'tangy' when discussing the flavours of ice cream. Children learn basic sign language alongside their speech and this helps all children to communicate their needs. However, at times, staff do not take enough time to pause during activities and story times to give younger children the opportunity to respond and practise their speaking skills. Also, at times, a reliance on dummies prevents babies and toddlers from practising their verbal communication.
• Staff use observations and assessment accurately in order to plan for children's next steps in learning and move them on in their development. The staff team communicates children's interests and their planning very clearly and this helps everyone in the nursery to understand how to support each child's development.
• Care routines are well established. Sleep routines are in place for babies, supporting them with rest periods throughout the day. Toddlers learn how to progress in their self-feeding skills and pre-school children follow routines to use the toilet and wash their hands before enjoying a healthy snack. This helps children to develop essential life skills and independence in their self-care.
• Parents say staff are approachable and that their children feel safe and secure on the nursery. They state the nursery promotes respect and celebrates diversity. Parents also appreciate the communication they receive from the nursery which helps them to understand how well their children are developing.
• Staff have established effective relationships with outside agencies. They provide support to children with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to ensure that they make progress in their learning and development. For instance, where professionals set specific targets for children, staff closely match activities to these to ensure that children are given the opportunities they need to succeed.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the sequencing of the literacy curriculum to raise the quality of education to an even higher level
• consider ways to support younger children's language and communication skills even further.