Kindred Brockley Nursery and Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop close relationships with their friends and the staff who care for them at this nursery. Staff know children well and use their knowledge of children's interests and learning needs to plan interesting activities that are linked to the current themes throughout the day. Staff's understanding of children and their learning goals helps to make the curriculum well designed, sequenced and interesting. Children arrive excited to learn and cheerfully greet their friends and staff.

Staff have a good understanding of how to support children's emotional well-being. They have high expectations of children's behaviour. Staff speak to children calmly and help them to understand their feelings. Children learn to share and take turns. Older children independently use a sand timer as they wait their turn at an activity. They use books to help them to understand how they feel. This helps to promote children's happiness and emotional security.

Children learn to be independent. They get a cup of water when they are thirsty, wash their hands before mealtimes, help to tidy up when they finish playing, and become confident to manage their self-care. This helps to prepare children well for the next stage in their learning, including starting school.

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

• Staff have a good knowledge of children's individual needs and interests. They use their observations and respond to conversations with children to plan interesting activities that support children to meet their next steps in development. Children show a keen interest in learning. They engage in activities and explore the environment with curiosity and awe. For example, following children's recent interest in favourite books, younger children eagerly enjoy a painting activity to recreate a bear hunt.
• Staff provide an inclusive curriculum that meets the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, all children make good progress from their starting points in development.
• Staff engage older children in meaningful conversation and use questioning techniques to develop children's thinking skills. Staff are good role models. They use clear speech and repeat words and phrases to secure children's understanding. However, staff working younger children do not consistently comment on what children are doing or respond to the sounds that babies make to help children to develop their language skills.
• Staff support children's development and understanding of mathematics effectively. Staff teach children how to count and compare sizes as they build towers. Older children eagerly recap on how many cups of flour have been added to make the play dough.
• Staff support children to develop early literacy skills. They encourage older children to find the 'letter of the week' in the classroom. Staff read books to children, and children access the book area independently. Staff creatively bring books to life, and children enjoy retelling familiar stories during creative activities.
• Children benefit from healthy and nutritious meals and snacks. Children have daily access to outdoor space, where they can move in different ways to strengthen their muscles and build their coordination skills. However, staff do not pay the same attention to planning for the outdoors as they do indoors. They do not consistently consider what the children need to learn when playing outdoors in order to fully support their learning.
• Staff have built strong partnerships with parents. They communicate with parents daily about what their child is doing at nursery. The manager involves parents well. For example, they invite them to attend special events. Parents comment on how much they value the stability within the staff team, as well as the regular flow of information.
• Staff are enthusiastic and devoted to their work. They are supported well by the management team, which has high expectations for children's learning. The management team motivates and supports staff to reflect on their practice. Staff are provided with many opportunities for professional learning and development, which helps to raise the quality of care and education for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve staff's understanding of how children's communication and language skills develop, particularly those staff working with younger children
• make better use of the range of activities in the outdoor area to promote children's progress.