Kidz Kaboom

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are keen to arrive and show toys from home to staff who take a keen interest in what they bring. They communicate with staff confidently, showing that they feel safe and secure in their care. Children are supported to complete tasks for themselves. This includes staff asking them to pull up their sleeves before washing their hands, which children do willingly. Staff sing songs to children about washing their hands. This is to help ensure that they do this thoroughly to promote hand-hygiene routines.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Staff liaise with other professionals, inviting them into the nursery to see children and to establish targets for staff to support their individual needs. Children receive encouragement from staff when they play alongside them. For instance, when they build and construct towers using plastic blocks, staff clap their hands in recognition of their achievements. This helps to raise children's self-esteem. Children are supported to learn how to share. For example, when children want to access trampolines, swings and slides outside, staff ask them to take it in turns. Children take an interest in listening to stories that staff read. They remain engaged and listen well when staff use different tones in their voice that capture their interest. This contributes to children developing a love of books and results in children choosing books to look at on their own.

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

• The management team makes improvements to broaden children's experiences. A new outdoor space offers children opportunities to learn about the natural environment. Children show excitement when they are asked if they want to play outdoors. They lie on swings and look at the light as it shines through leaves and branches on trees.
• Staff support children's emotional well-being, including when they first start attending. Many of the children who attend have previously visited the soft-play centre which is situated above the nursery. Because they are familiar with this area, staff take children to use these facilities. This enables them to become familiar with staff, in a place they feel comfortable, before being introduced to the main playrooms. This contributes to children settling well.
• The key-person system is effective in supporting children's development. Staff observe and assess children's learning and identify what they need to learn next. This includes helping children to regulate and manage their behaviour when they become frustrated. For instance, children find a quiet space to be calm.
• The manager meets with staff regularly to discuss their practice and well-being. She provides staff with in-house training to help build on their knowledge of how to plan for children's learning. However, further support is needed to support staff to be more effective in the implementation of planned activities. This includes differentiating their interactions to meet the needs and abilities of the children who take part. This will contribute to children learning as much as possible from the learning offered.
• The management team offers children nutritious drinks and food to help contribute to promoting a healthy diet. Children serve their own food at lunchtime, enabling them to learn about about portion sizes and to promote their independence.
• Staff encourage children to use good manners and to be polite. For instance, they model using good manners when they pass children plates of food at snack time. This results in children copying staff, passing their peers drinks and receiving a thank you in return.
• Overall, staff support children's speaking skills well. For example, they talk to children when they play alongside them. However, occasionally, staff do not fully help children to understand the words they use. For example, when staff ask children to describe objects as being cold, warm, hard or soft, they do not help them to understand what these words mean first. This results in children not understanding what is being asked.
• Parents and carers say that staff are very welcoming. They receive photos from staff of their children engaged in activities and information about what they need to learn next. Staff support parents to read stories to children at home. This helps to provide a united approach to supporting children's development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on the support for staff to implement the intent of planned activities to help meet the different ages and abilities of the children who take part
• help staff to support children's understanding of the words staff use.