Kids Planet Stepping Stones Streetly

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children with smiles and talk enthusiastically about the morning plans to visit the forest. Leaders plan a curriculum that supports children's development, with a key focus on nurturing attachments. Children build strong, responsive bonds with their key persons. A buddy key-person system ensures children always have a familiar member of staff available to support them. This helps children feel safe and secure.

Children are thriving at the nursery. They confidently explore the provision. Babies develop their core strength. They crawl, pull themselves to stand and cruise around furniture. Babies join in with music and song time with staff, play instruments and imitate animal sounds. Toddlers enjoy sensory play. They explore a variety of different textures and smells as they play with play dough, herbs, water and citrus fruit. Staff support toddlers to negotiate obstacle courses outdoors and develop their balance skills. Older children excitedly search for worms in the garden. They spray water onto the soil and observe what happens. Staff talk to children about vibrations making the worms come to the surface, just like when it rains. They support children to develop their early mathematical skills. Staff help them carefully measure worms using rulers and practise their counting skills. Children compare the length of worms and talk about who has found the longest and shortest.

Staff encourage children to follow the rules of the nursery. Children listen respectfully to staff and their peers and use good manners. They kindly share with their friends and wait patiently for their turn. Staff know children well and recognise triggers that may unsettle children. They take steps to provide children with the support they require during this time.

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

• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported exceptionally well. This is because staff work in close partnership with parents and other specialists to ensure children receive the support they need. Staff write and regularly update support plans, ensuring all staff are aware of children's needs. Furthermore, they complete communication and language assessments of all children to promptly identify any gaps or delays in development. Staff share strategies and resources with each other and parents, including key vocabulary and visual images to support children's communication.
• Staff promote a love of books. All children visit the local library. Staff create cosy areas where children relax and enjoy books. Babies independently turn pages of board books, babbling as they look at pictures. Toddlers snuggle in with staff, excitedly lift flaps in books and talk about what they can see. Staff plan woodland walks where older children act out familiar stories.
• Staff support children to become increasingly independent. Babies access their own drinks and feed themselves. Staff support toddlers to recognise their own physical needs and manage their personal hygiene. Older children take on responsibilities within the nursery. They help lay the table at lunchtime and look after plants.
• Parents describe the nursery as a safe, nurturing and happy environment with dedicated, kind-hearted and supportive staff. They say their children come home with big smiles and stories to tell. Staff use a variety of ways to continue children's home learning. This includes a 'weekend bear' that children take home. Parents share photos of activities children enjoy doing with the bear.
• Leaders plan a varied curriculum that builds on what children already know and can do. Staff use what they know about the children to plan next steps. However, during free-flow play, some staff do not support children to become fully engaged in the learning experiences on offer. Consequently, these children do not maintain high levels of engagement.
• Leaders support staff well-being. They complete regular supervisions with staff and identify areas for professional development. This helps develop staff knowledge. However, there is scope to extend this further to help improve the implementation of the curriculum. This is because there are times where some staff do not ensure that activities are clearly focused.
• Leaders are passionate about providing the best care and education for children. They seek the views of children, parents and staff, using the motto 'you said, we did' to show they are listening. Following this feedback, leaders have introduced Spanish lessons, music and movement sessions and organised various trips. They have plans to extend children's knowledge of other cultures and beliefs by developing a faith walk in the community.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus more sharply on the learning intent of activities to ensure all children's learning is promoted to the highest level
• provide children with the specific support they require to become fully engaged during free-flow play.