Kindergarten Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at nursery ready to learn. They have adapted well to changes due to COVID-19, such as leaving their parents happily at the door. Children display positive behaviours, such as being kind to their friends and using their manners. Older children help their friends if they struggle with tasks, for example, opening yoghurts or zipping up coats. Children encourage their friends to join in with activities such as climbing and balancing games. Staff make a real effort to celebrate each child's birthday. Children feel valued and special.

Children's attitudes to learning are positive and they recall things that they already know. They tell the inspector that the beans that they have planted need sunlight and water to enable them to grow. Staff have high expectations for all children. All children attempt to feed themselves. Toddlers scream with delight as they find green beans in their lunch. Older children wash their own hands and face, developing their self-care skills and independence.

Children have a range of opportunities to develop their physical skills. They run, balance, dangle, and dig. Older children hold their crayons well as they draw spiders. Babies explore a range of sensory experiences. They beam with happiness as they squeeze crinkly material and hear the noise it makes. Staff are aware of the importance of providing these opportunities to support later writing skills.

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

• Leaders and staff have a good understanding of the areas of learning. Staff implement a range of activities that motivate and engage children because they know each child's strengths and value their individual characters and interests. Younger children explore a range of sensory activities and smile with delight as they handle and taste pasta. However, staff are not always clear about what they intend for children to learn.
• Staff support children's communication and language development well. They use a range of strategies to build vocabulary for children. Older children are supported to identify sounds in their names, which helps to support later reading and writing skills.
• Staff are nurturing and caring. This supports children to feel safe and happy and is a particular strength of this nursery. Staff encourage children to share their achievements. Children seek the inspector's attention as they swing off climbing equipment and beam with pride as they sing songs that they have learned at home.
• Staff make good use of children's play to support their understanding of mathematics. Staff provide tape measures to enable children to check how tall their towers are. This extends learning opportunities for children.
• Children are developing their understanding of what makes them unique. Their family photographs are available in all rooms and older children vote for a story of their choice. This makes them feel valued.
• Partnership working is strong. Leaders make effective use of their links with outside agencies to ensure that children get any extra support they need. Staff assess accurately and link closely with the special educational needs coordinator to identify children who are at risk of falling behind and to plan any additional support. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress in their learning.
• Staff talk positively about the support they receive from the leaders. Staff feel that leaders go above and beyond to support their well-being. This provides a positive environment where staff are ready to put children at the heart of everything they do.
• Leaders ensure that staff have access to a wide range of training opportunities. However, they do not consistently check what impact training makes to children's learning. Furthermore, this is not always focused on the priority areas of the nursery. For example, staff are fully aware of the importance of indoor physical opportunities for babies, but opportunities are not always maximised due to the limited floor space.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery's good local reputation and the efforts of the fantastic staff. They say they are kept well informed about their children's time in nursery. Staff also make effective use of information gathered from parents. This helps them plan specifically how to meet children's individual needs and promote their good progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that all staff are clear about what they want children to learn when they plan activities throughout the day
• focus professional development on the priority areas for the nursery and monitor the impact this has on all children.