Kidz Kabin Pembroke Studios

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive and are greeted by welcoming staff at this wonderful nursery. Staff are highly committed and very nurturing. They work well together and value children as individuals. Children feel relaxed and secure, as routines are well embedded. Babies are comfortable and enjoy playing alongside each other. They enjoy plenty of sensory exploration scooping dyed grains, for example. Older children play cooperatively. They enjoy learning, discovering and experimenting together.

The curriculum for physical development is highly ambitious. Staff use the outdoor areas well to promote children's physical health. Babies enjoy rocking on see-saws and excitedly practise throwing and catching with balls. Older children boldly navigate challenging obstacle courses. Staff innovatively plan activities that appeal to children. For example, they use tape to stick various toy animals to inverted containers. As babies discover the animals, they are transfixed and persist in trying to free them.

All staff are strong motivators. They speak about the children positively and have high expectations of what children can achieve. Children are consistently challenged to think and learn to problem-solve. Staff allow children to attempt tasks independently before offering assistance. They consistently seek children's permission as they interact with them. Children feel safe and confidently assert their preferences.

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

• The leaders have accurately assessed children's starting points. From their insightful analysis, they have determined children need more activities to build core strength and improved physical agility. The nursery's owner has prioritised the purchase of extra resources and refurbished an additional outdoor space for children's use to meet the children's needs.
• Staff expertly promote children's language. Children benefit from exceptional interactions from staff. Staff label objects, repeat key words and use signing during their conversations. Babies excitedly join in with actions to songs in other languages and English. Babies quickly move on from intentional babble to saying words. Staff working with older children model language to a high standard, so that children can talk confidently about their activities. For example, children described a dough cutter as being able to 'float under the water', during a floating and sinking activity.
• Children display a love of books and stories. Babies confidently turn the pages of hard books. Older children listen attentively as staff read 'The Hungry Caterpillar'. Children happily interject with responses linked to events in the story.
• Older children deeply engage in science experiments. During these focused times, staff knowledgeably give children time to test their ideas and make predictions. Children concentrate well and enjoy finding out whether the size of a wooden object determines whether it will float or sink.
• Children with additional needs are supported exceptionally well. The deputy manager, who is also the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), works closely with the local early years adviser. She has good links with other special provision in the community. She ensures children making less than expected progress are quickly identified. Her sensitive approach helps build trusting relationships with parents. Children receive good, targeted support with input from professionals.
• Children enjoy being independent. Younger children determinedly use serving tongs to help themselves to fruit at snack time. Older children manage their personal needs very well. They move around the setting responsibly and take care of the toys and resources. Children learn about nature and the world around them through regular trips to Highgate Wood, museums and garden centres. They enjoy lots of opportunities to explore expressive movement to music.
• Parents praise the welcoming and dedicated staff. They say their children make excellent progress and successfully transition from the babies to toddlers groups.
• Staff are very happy in their roles. They say they receive strong support during supervision. Initiatives such as having a reduced working week allow staff to enjoy a good work-life balance.
• The leaders routinely monitor and update the nursery policies. They have recently updated the safeguarding policy to include the prohibited use of smart watches, for example. However, the current system for disseminating this information across the nursery needs revisiting. This is because not all the policies are captured and shared with the staff team.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• revisit the system for monitoring and reviewing policies so that all policies are captured and shared with the entire staff team.