Kinderzimmer South Kensington

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and quickly engage in activities with their friends on arrival. Parents and carers speak to staff to share information in the morning that may impact their child's day. This ensures that children's emotional and care needs are met and fully supported. Children enjoy lots of opportunities during the day to develop their physical skills. For example, in the garden, children dig and pour sand into containers. They use spades to dig for treasure and share their experiences with the attentive staff.

Leaders ensure that there is an ambitious and varied curriculum for all children, which includes children with special education needs and/or disabilities. As a result, children make good progress. Children's interests are used to capture children's attention and extend their learning. For example, children have recently celebrated St George's Day and the dragon. Staff have extended children's learning by supporting them in making food for the dragon in the mud kitchen. Children use new words they have learnt and demonstrate excitement as they play together harmoniously. Staff are very supportive of children throughout their play. Staff respond positively to children, outlining expectations clearly so children understand and respond well. Children behave very well.

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

• Leaders recognise that they have gone through a period of transition since they opened. However, additional newly recruited qualified staff are in place to support the curriculum and the quality of teaching.
• Leaders are ambitious for every child to reach their full potential. Staff ensure a robust settling-in process helps establish children's individual needs, so each child is assessed and the curriculum planned effectively. This helps support sequenced learning, so children learn in stages based on what they already know and can do and what they need to learn next.
• Leaders ensure that staff have a thorough induction. This helps to support consistent teaching and implementation of policies. Regular supervision supports staff well-being and identifies training needs, as well as workload. However, occasional gaps in teaching are not yet consistently monitored to identify and improve consistency in teaching.
• Staff support children's language development well. This includes children who speak English as an additional language. Staff talk to children throughout the day, and children hear new words. A number of staff speak the children's home language. This helps staff build bonds with children and gives them a sense of belonging when they hear their home language key words spoken. Staff enter into two-way conversations with children, which helps build their vocabulary. During the day, children sing nursery rhymes and songs, which help extend their language. Children become effective communicators.
• Staff support children to become independent learners. For example, after lunch, babies are given a small mirror so they can see how effectively they wipe their faces clean. All children learn from a young age how to use cutlery with confidence. This helps to prepare children for the next stage in their learning and school.
• Staff help children transition to new activities or care routines throughout the day. For example, after lunchtime, children have a short period of free time to play before going to sleep. However, occasionally, transitions have not been thoroughly considered to ensure children are fully supported and engaged in a smooth and calm transition.
• Staff help to support children's love of books. Children access books independently, as well as listen to storytelling throughout the day. Babies and children snuggle up to staff as they listen to stories with intent.
• Staff provide children with activities that support children's gross motor skills. For example, children wait their turn as they use the balance board. This helps to support children's core strength and coordination. Babies use low-level ramps to strengthen their leg muscles. This helps to support children's physical health and confidence.
• Staff ensure that parents receive daily communication. Parents know who their child's key person is and what their child is currently learning. This helps create conversations and extension of learning at home. Parents share that their children are making good progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on the arrangements for staff supervision sessions and the monitoring of teaching, so staff continuously reflect and build on their teaching skills
• further support staff to consistently adapt routines and the environment to meet children's needs, particularly for younger children during transitions between activities and sleep times.