Kids Planet Lowdham

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter eagerly upon arrival to the welcoming and secure nursery and explore the activities provided. Staff support children well as they play, encouraging and praising their efforts. They offer cuddles and reassurance when newer children need additional support. This helps build children's well-being and confidence.

Key staff know their children and plan a variety of activities for children to develop the essential skills needed for the next stage of their education. Staff help children learn how to control their movements as they balance on tyres and ladders. They understand the importance of cleaning the resources and ensuring children regularly wash their hands.

Staff provide older children with a wide range of stories and rhymes. Children are helped to recall characters in stories and are encouraged to discuss what may happen next. Older children are effective communicators. They show confidence as they chat to staff and visitors, telling them about their favourite activities at nursery. Children show kindness and they are polite to others. They say 'excuse me' when they want to gain attention and tell staff about what they are doing.

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

• Staff in the toddler and pre-school room use their knowledge of the children's interests and how children learn as they plan a wide range of activities that intrigue children. For example, a recent interest in play dough has resulted in staff providing children with additional resources, such as herbs and spices, to add to play dough. Children build their small-muscle skills as they knead in the additional ingredients, discussing how they change the texture of the play dough.
• The manager and senior staff team carry out handovers with staff to ensure that they have the required information about each child in their care. However, at times, these handovers are focused on children's care needs, resulting in some staff being less effective in supporting their key children in their play. Occasionally, this results in children not receiving the support they require to progress further in their learning.
• Staff act as good role models. They teach children to be kind and caring to others. Children listen to instructions as they are encouraged to tidy up after playing with the toys. Older children display good levels of involvement and engagement in activities. Staff eagerly support children and helpfully remind them to say 'please' and 'thank you' when they receive their snacks and meals.
• Older children communicate their needs and interests well. For example, they confidently vocalise as they play, telling staff about what they are doing as they help to fill the paddling pool with water and bring babies to the pool to give them a 'bath'. However, on occasion, staff working with babies and younger children do not recognise and respond as babies babble. This means that babies are not always receiving the support they need with their developing communication and language skills.
• The manager and staff gather information from parents when children first start to help them understand children's interests and development. Parents are complimentary of the 'brilliant' key workers that help support their children. They provide parents with additional support to help them at home such as potty training advice. Parents say that their children are making good progress in their development at nursery.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well in their learning. Staff seek advice from other professionals and agencies to ensure children make the best possible progress. Targeted intervention plans and strategies are in place so that staff can help children who need additional support. As a result of this, children with SEND are making good progress in their learning.
• Staff comment that they enjoy the training offered to them. They feel that it helps gain a better understanding of how children develop and learn. Staff now consider this knowledge as they plan activities for the children present. The management team ensures that regular supervisions and meetings occur so that staff feel supported in their role.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider how information about children is shared with staff so that children's learning can be supported as they play.
• develop how staff support babies' and younger children's communication and language skills.