Kids Planet Lepton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff's skilful teaching, inventive curriculum and richly resourced environments are inspired by influential early years theorists, internally designed accreditation programmes and world-wide educational approaches. Children enjoy highly effective and sociable daily routines, where learning continues and staff promote healthy lifestyles and children's early independence exceptionally well. Children excel and develop essential foundations for future learning. They are engrossed in enticing activities, highly motivated and have a real zest for learning. Babies and younger children curiously explore a wealth of intriguing tactile resources. Older children demonstrate exemplary behaviour, communication skills and collaborative play. For example, they share ideas, deciding how best to strategically place the plastic guttering, while learning about scientific and mathematical principles during water play. Children mirror staff's excellent role modelling, showing respect and many acts of kindness to their friends.

Children happily bound into the vibrant nursery, eager to embark on an exciting and busy, fun-filled day. Staff, with whom children have secure attachments, welcome them warmly and create a nurturing environment. Consequently, children settle quickly, feel safe and secure, and play contentedly. Staff have high aspirations for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They know every child is special, unique and entitled to high-quality provision and education. This is expertly adapted to ensure that all children flourish and reach their full potential. For example, staff access external activities, such as animal therapy, work in excellent partnership with other professionals and implement meticulously targeted support plans.

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

• Staff work in excellent consultation with parents and exchange limitless information to optimise children's learning. Staff share comprehensive assessments, for example, through progress meetings. They greatly consider children's home life, character and ever-evolving interests when planning children's next steps.
• Staff involve parents in children's learning exceptionally well, for example, through play sessions and sharing activity ideas and story bags. Staff share information from training, such as pre-phonics. They provide a wealth of information and resources, such as teeth brushing packs, through the 'advice' library and drop-in support sessions.
• Staff enrich children's experiences and learning through visitors, such as the dentist, police and fire service, and extra-curricular activities, such as cookery, gardening and photography clubs. Children learn how to take and print images using different technology to create a pictorial daily routine to support their non- verbal friends, for instance.
• The excellent outdoor provision is inspired by Scandinavian approaches and designed and led by the head of outdoor learning. Children not only develop physical and emotional health and well-being, but have other far-reaching learning opportunities. For example, older children develop literacy and imagination skills as they write down orders and make mud meals in the exciting exploratory kitchen and café role-play area.
• Children develop excellent motor skills in readiness for future writing. Babies enjoy 'tummy time' and toddlers focus intently while using metallic stacking toys. Two-year-olds balance on wide-based equipment and pick up shredded tissue paper with tweezers. Older children confidently climb, balance and use wheelbarrows, and stretch rubber bands over nails on geoboards.
• Staff foster children's love of songs, rhymes and stories superbly. This supports children's future reading and accelerates their language skills, which staff promote exceptionally well. They sing spontaneously, creating a joyful atmosphere, provide a lively narrative as children play and introduce more complex vocabulary to older children.
• Staff display books all around the nursery rooms. They skilfully read stories, create storyboards and use story spoons. Staff link stories through expansive follow-up activities. For example, older children excitedly retell the story of the three little pigs in the house they have built and while making clay models.
• Staff place an exemplary emphasis on children having a voice to build on their self-esteem and confidence. Older children share ideas and opinions, express their interests and contribute to decisions through the 'pre-school committee'. They discuss and document, for instance, activities, daily routines and areas of play. Staff create unique communication technology, to support non-verbal children.
• Children learn about caring for their environment, for instance through recycling and upcycling, saving electricity and re-using rain water. Staff involve families in charity initiatives and provide children's clothing bundles and an outdoor library, as part of the many community initiatives. Giving to others helps children learn to develop empathy, compassion and a sense of purpose.
• Children constantly learn about everyone uniqueness. Older children share their family culture and interests, celebrating what is important to them, and staff do the same. Staff use a wealth of culturally rich resources, displays, and stories to celebrate diversity with the children.
• Leaders have expansive, inclusive self-evaluation systems and an exemplary investment in staff's professional growth and development. For example, they have developed their own training academy.