Kids Planet Topsham House

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff understand the importance of building strong relationships with children and their families. They plan detailed inductions and tailor settling in sessions to meet the children's individual needs. Staff provide experiences that help give children a sense of belonging. For example, they create family photo books and children routinely take part in self-registration. This helps children to feel valued and secure.

Staff are good role models. They give children consistent, gentle messages to help them learn to share resources and to have good manners. Staff speak to each other with kindness and respect, which creates a very happy place for children to learn.

Children thoroughly enjoy their time in the outdoor environment. Staff provide children with lots of opportunities to be active and to develop their physical skills. Children leap, bounce and jump from one hoop to another, building on their core strength and agility. They use their hand-eye coordination when throwing and catching balls with their friends. Staff offer children more challenge, making the distance apart greater, so they need to throw the ball further. Children ride around confidently on trikes, showing high levels of perseverance as they push down hard on the pedals to reach the top of a slope. Additionally, children learn to complete their own risk assessments. They recognise that the large climbing equipment is wet and could be slippery. They tell their friends it is not safe to use.

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

• Staff find out about the experiences children have had before starting at the nursery. They use this information to provide them with further experiences. For instance, staff plan opportunities for children to learn about the wider community. They visit the local forest school and take part in church events. Staff regularly take children to the library to listen to stories and borrow books. These visits help children to develop their understanding of the world around them.
• Overall, staff provide children with a balanced curriculum that builds on what they already know and can do. For example, staff plan a dinosaur activity that links to their current interest. They ask children to recall previous learning about fossils and what extinction means. Staff extend their knowledge by discussing the role of a palaeontologist. Children quickly absorb the information and understand that palaeontologists study fossils of extinct animals. However, staff's knowledge of the curriculum intent is not always clear. They sometimes struggle to express what skills they want children to gain from the activities provided.
• Children behave well and are consistently praised by staff for their achievements. Staff help children to make the right choices and to be kind to others. They involve children to create 'golden rules' for nursery. This helps children to develop a deeper understanding of behavioural expectations.
• Staff morale is high. They feel supported, valued and respected by leaders both professionally and personally. Leaders recognise the importance of effective staff supervision arrangements, which are used to identify future training opportunities and build on staff's professional development.
• Children develop independence skills from an early age. For instance, at mealtimes, babies learn to drink from cups and to use a spoon to feed themselves. Older children are involved in setting the dinner table and pouring drinks. Staff make mealtimes a relaxing, social time for children. They chat about their day and what they will be doing next. That said, during some mealtimes younger children sit for long periods of time before staff serve their meal. As a result, children become restless and fidgety.
• Staff have high expectations of every child, including those with additional needs. They work closely with other agencies involved with the children to design and implement targeted learning plans. These are regularly reviewed and support children's next steps well. Leaders use additional funding effectively, such as the early years pupil premium, which contributes to children's good progress.
• Parents are absolutely delighted with the care and support staff give to their children. They feel communication between themselves and staff is strong, both verbally and through online platforms. Parents feel well informed and know where their child is in their development. Additionally, staff share activity ideas for home learning to help parents support their children further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on staff's knowledge of the curriculum intent, so they are clear about what it is that children need to learn, to help them to make the best progress
• review the organisation of some daily routines so children are not waiting for long periods.