Kidz@work Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), thoroughly enjoy learning new and exciting words. For example, children call out, 'It's a compsognathus' as they recognise the character in the very well-told dinosaur book. Children make excellent progress in their communication skills and other areas of their learning. They are fully prepared for the next stage in their education. Children learn to be inquisitive and reflective. They wonder why the antennae on their pet giant African snail, 'Martin', moves in and out, for instance, and how paint colours change on ice.

Children are very safe and secure. They respond to staff's consistently high expectations. Babies grow rapidly in confidence. They enjoy the warmth of the welcome they receive from the staff, who have a deep understanding of their needs and routines. Children learn to make well informed decisions about what to play with from the many exciting activities available. Their behaviour is excellent. For instance, they considerately share and take turns on the challenging two-to-four person trikes and balance bikes in the busy outdoor areas.

Parents welcomed the strong steps staff took to keep children safe and to sustain their learning throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They particularly appreciated the very positive impact staff have on helping children address their limited social experiences during lockdown.

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

• The enthusiastic manager and her senior leadership team inspire the well-qualified staff to strive for the highest standards. They make very good use of robust supervision procedures to support staff through monitoring and training to develop their skills and sharpen their knowledge. They strongly contribute to wider early years development through, for instance, their role in national and local healthy eating and recycling projects.
• Children's learning is precisely and sequentially planned to build on their previous experiences. Staff make sure that learning is ambitious and memorable. For instance, children learn about growth and life cycles as they plant herbs and vegetables in the nursery garden. They use them in their pizza making and baking activities, and create exciting vegetable prints and paintings. Learning is further reinforced as they observe caterpillars change into butterflies and release them into the garden.
• Staff provide highly effective support to children with SEND. They work together with parents and specialist professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to set targets and prepare children for further learning. Staff make very good use of any additional funding to provide the skills and resources to help children reach their goals.
• Staff are highly skilled and experienced in supporting children's communication skills and helping them to build a rich vocabulary. For instance, staff use key words, such as 'wet, dry, soft' and 'hard'. They repeat the babies early language and sounds as they fully immerse themselves in sensory activities with sand, paint and rice. Staff help children talk about their ingredients for coriander soup in their muddy kitchen or participate in role play as the Queen and guards at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
• Children learn to love and value books. They enjoy sitting with staff and looking through photo books of nursery life, staff and their families and children's holidays. Staff select books carefully, which build on children's interests and develop their awareness of rhyme and language. A wide range of strategies, such as 'Book of the Week', role play and puppetry, help to make the reading experiences fresh and memorable.
• Staff have a very positive impact on children's personal development and excellent behaviour. They work closely with parents to understand children's needs and help them to express different qualities and emotions. For instance, children learn to be gentle and caring when handling their many class pets and to value their environment through recycling and other projects.
• Children actively learn about the world around them. For example, they thoroughly enjoyed making their chickpea curry after reading the book 'Chapatti Moon' and creating and baking pizzas for Italian pizza day. They sponsor a child in Kenya and have helped her to buy a goat for the family.
• Parents feel 'it is a wonderful place to send my children' and would strongly recommend the nursery. They feel their views are valued through, for example, involvement in planning and designing the outdoor areas and regular surveys on nursery life.