Kinderoos Tewkesbury

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The manager and staff know and understand the children who attend very well. They plan interesting and engaging activities and environments to stimulate children's curiosity. Children really enjoy the indoor and outdoor play spaces, readily choosing who and what they would like to play with. Babies explore with all their senses as they mould and shape dough. They push seashells into the dough and make patterns. Staff encourage children to use their fingers to touch the ridges made by the shells. They offer words to describe the feel and texture.

Toddlers explore the sand. They comment on the colour blue and that it feels 'prickly'. Children fill containers and then pour the sand through funnels. They exclaim excitedly as it runs out over their hands and say that it is tickling them. Staff help children to work out that adding water to the sand will make it 'sticky' so they can create sandcastles. The children have fun fetching the water in jugs, adding it to the sand and then making their sandcastle. They show pride and pleasure when the structures stay up.

Pre-school children challenge themselves and others. For example, children see who can climb the rope to the top. They use their hands and feet to scale the sloped climbing wall, stand on the top and jump off. Some ask for help from staff at first. As they gain confidence, they ask for only one hand to be held as they jump down.

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

• The manager uses local sources to provide professional development opportunities for staff. Staff have gained skills to support children's language and communication better. Staff have reflected on the play spaces, and how they speak with children. They are making positive changes that encourage children's talking. Staff working with toddlers include innovative ways to help them understand the daily routine. For example, they use physical items, such as water bottles, artificial turf and toys, alongside the words and pictures. Staff have created cards with pictures and words in home languages. They use these alongside English to help to develop children's speaking.
• Babies enjoy story time. Staff use props to help children maintain attention. Babies use pretend telescopes to look for the different characters in the story. Toddlers enjoy rhyme time. Staff model counting as they sing songs about buying currant buns. They ask children to recall how many they had at the beginning of the rhyme, so they can work out how many are left. Some children struggle to wait for their turn, and as the toys are close to them, they pick them up or throw them about, disrupting the attention of others.
• Pre-school children join in races in the outdoor area. They choose coloured spoons and match pretend eggs, then race to the 'finish line'. However, some children decide to knock the eggs off the spoons, causing others to become upset. Staff step in to support the children. They do not provide clear messages from the start for how children can share the resources and play spaces when working or playing in a group.
• Key persons work with parents and other professionals to help children who may need extra support. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, learn well. Staff talk with the children as they play. However, on occasion, they do not ask questions or challenge children to think of different ways to do things to extend learning.
• Partnership with parents is superb. Staff go above and beyond to support families and children. The manager has signed up the setting to a community support hub. The manager and staff help to source and provide items for families. For example, they work with local shops to help families get medicinal creams, toothbrushes and toothpaste. The nursery cook provides families with healthy recipes that use affordable ingredients. The manager and staff support events in the community as well. Recently, the staff provided a 'kid zone' at a local fair. Children visit local sites, such as the abbey, library and park. Children are learning what makes them unique. Staff are also showing children the importance of caring for others, and how they fit into the wider community.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the way staff build on what children know and can do to extend children's learning and development further
• provide clearer messages for children to help them better understand how to share resources and play spaces.