KidsZone Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this supportive setting. Staff foster a caring relationship with children and are responsive to their needs and wishes. They offer children warm and cheerful greetings when they arrive at the setting. Staff spend time each day learning with their key children. This promotes strong relationships between children and staff and supports children's emotional health well.

Leaders have put in place a good curriculum that has a focus on promoting children's growing independence skills as they move through the setting. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective support. The special educational needs coordinator works well in partnership with parents and outside agencies. This promotes children's next steps in education.

Staff are excellent role models and have high expectations of children's behaviour. The interactions between staff and children are positive. Staff listen to the children, who freely express their ideas and their feelings. At times, children need extra help to manage their behaviour. At these times, staff calmly explain to children how to play kindly. Children are learning to share, speak nicely, and listen to each other.

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

• Staff foster children's love of stories. They read to children with enthusiasm, which captures their interest and imagination. For instance, children are eager to find out what happens next in books and explain their ideas. They also sing out the repeated refrains. Staff skilfully capture children's ideas and extend children's communication and language skills further.
• The youngest children enjoy singing with staff, who model the actions to nursery rhymes. Young children laugh and smile, some babble, and others sing along. This supports children's early listening and understanding skills.
• Leaders plan the curriculum to ensure all children develop small-muscle development in fun ways. Older children confidently cut their fruit. Young children enjoy sensory play and manipulate sand. They also use their fingers to move cogs, wheels and small instruments. But, staff do not ensure that all children have enough opportunities to play outside, with an aim to further supporting the development of their large-muscle skills.
• All children eat nutritious meals. The staff have an in-depth knowledge of children's allergies and dietary requirements. This supports their physical health.
• Staff ensure children spend time outside in the locality. They visit museums, local shops and parks. This helps children to learn about their community.
• Staff effectively organise the setting to support children's good levels of independence. For instance, children independently wash their hands with soap before eating. Staff encourage babies to feed themselves with a spoon. Older children practise pouring their own drinks. Most of them serve their own food at mealtimes. Staff encourage children to take their own shoes off and put them away when they arrive. All children are preparing for their next stage of learning.
• The leaders and staff work well together. Staff receive monthly supervisions to discuss children's learning and their own professional development. There is a commitment to further training at all levels. The leaders ensure staff have a good awareness of current information about learning in the early years. They also ensure staff have access to appropriate training opportunities. Staff feel that leaders value them. This supports children's learning outcomes.
• Staff form good relationships with parents. They share information with them about their children's day. For example, staff talk to parents about the learning experience that their children complete at the setting. This promotes good parent partnerships.
• Parents praise staff for the quality of the daily updates they provide about their children's development. They comment that staff are professional and approachable.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the curriculum further to support children to develop their large-muscle skills, particularly during outside play.