Kids- Time

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Enthusiastic staff welcome children into the setting. Staff have developed caring bonds with the children and this helps them to settle quickly. Staff support children who are settling in by singing to them and offering lots of cuddles. Staff embrace the diversity of the children and families who attend, embedding cultural celebrations and key words from different languages into the curriculum. They avoid gender stereotyping and encourage all children to dress up in clothes of their choosing in the role-play area. Children are valued as individuals and demonstrate high levels of self-esteem. Children benefit from the curriculum that leaders have designed. Leaders place a strong focus on widening children's experiences and supporting children's communication and language skills. Staff model and extend language as they interact with children. They value the importance of singing with children and children spontaneously burst into song throughout the day. Staff effectively support all children to make good progress in their learning.

Staff create a calm environment. They support the children to follow the expectations and routines through the use of visual aids and by using a consistent approach. Children enjoy the time they spend with their friends. They show positive behaviours towards each other as they allow other children to join in with ring games and as they take turns going down the slide. Children demonstrate care and consideration as they check on the pet tortoise each day.

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

• Staff provide children with many opportunities to develop their physical skills. They plan environments that encourage children to be physically active. Babies cruise around furniture and pull themselves up to access activities that interest them. Staff celebrate with young children as they take their first steps. Older children develop their core muscles as they climb, balance, run and jump confidently.
• Staff ensure children have access to a range of fun experiences to enhance their hand-eye coordination. Children eagerly spread glue and stick coloured paper to make collages. They scoop sand into containers as they make sand castles with staff. Children use these skills at other times in the day as they competently pour their own drinks and serve their own foods.
• Staff prioritise teaching children about good oral health. They promote children's healthy eating, such as offering them nutritious meals and working with families to ensure any packed lunches follow the setting's healthy eating policy. Staff provide many opportunities for children to play outside in the fresh air and they go for many walks in the community. These opportunities further children's understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyles.
• Staff organise a balance of structured activities and opportunities for children to explore freely. When children are engaged in free play, staff respond to their interests and extend their learning. As children show interest in cars, staff introduce ramps and encourage children to count and predict how far the cars will go. However, when planning large-group activities, staff do not always consider the organisation of these activities. As a result, not all children remain interested or benefit from the learning experiences at these times.
• Staff know each child well and they use this knowledge to plan an ambitious curriculum. However, some staff do not consistently implement the curriculum in a well sequenced way. When planning activities, some staff do not always define clearly enough what they intend children to know or be able to do as a result of taking part. Therefore, some planned activities do not consistently build on what children know and need to know next.
• The committed leaders regularly review their own and staff's practice. They have a good understanding of the setting's strengths and areas of development. Leaders provide staff with regular training and feedback on their practice. This targeted support helps staff to be effective in their roles and to continue to develop their skills over time.
• Leaders value the importance of working in partnership with parents. Staff work closely with parents from the start and communicate regularly to support consistency for children's learning. Parents state that their children have flourished in the care of the 'attentive' staff. They have seen particular progress with their children's communication and language skills since they have started at the setting.
• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. Leaders provide specific training for staff to support them to meet the individual needs of all children. Staff identify when children may need extra help with their learning and work closely with external agencies to further support children with SEND to make continuous progress. Children with SEND make good progress alongside their peers.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to deliver large-group activities more effectively, so all children benefit from the learning experiences and maintain engagement
• help staff to clearly identify what they intend for children to learn from the activities they provide.