Kindred Edmonton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled in this inclusive environment. Children build secure bonds with the caring staff, who welcome them warmly. This helps them to feel safe and secure and promotes their emotional well-being. Children who join the nursery quickly adapt to the new environment and routines because their key persons support them well.

Children are confident and keen to learn. They choose what they would like to play with from a variety of interesting resources, and concentrate well. For example, babies discover that they can create marks on a chalkboard using wet paintbrushes. They persevere until they cover the whole surface. Older children are captivated by their favourite stories. They listen intently and join in enthusiastically with the parts that they remember.

Children behave well. They listen to and follow instructions and understand the high expectations of staff. Children learn to be independent, and show satisfaction in doing things for themselves. For instance, babies learn to eat with a spoon and older children serve themselves at mealtimes. Children enjoy being helpful and assist staff with setting out and tidying up resources.

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

• The new manager has a clear vision for the setting and how to support children's learning and development. She has a good understanding of children's experiences outside of the nursery. She explains the importance of providing plenty of outdoor play to support children's health and well-being, as many do not have access to a garden at home.
• Staff monitor children's progress. They identify where children may need extra help to prevent them from falling behind in their learning. The manager has developed good links with the local authority inclusion team. Together, they ensure that children receive appropriate support. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language, make good progress in relation to their starting points.
• Staff provide a good balance of adult- and child-initiated activities to help children build on what they already know. For example, staff recognise that children enjoy playing with dolls. They use this interest to extend children's understanding of health and hygiene. Children brush the dolls' teeth and care for them in a pretend hospital. However, occasionally, staff do not have a clear intent for what they want children to learn when they are implementing group activities. Therefore, some children do not gain the most from these learning experiences.
• Staff provide lots of opportunities for children to practise listening and speaking, such as enjoying stories and songs. In general, staff ask questions effectively to support children's language and thinking skills. However, in some circumstances, they answer questions before children have had chance to think and respond.
• Children have lots of opportunities for vigorous play to strengthen their large-muscle movements. For instance, toddlers have great fun pushing trolleys around in the garden, which helps them to run confidently. Older children joyfully practise climbing, balancing and crawling as they negotiate an obstacle course with their friends.
• Children put forward their views about the nursery at the weekly 'children's council'. Staff value children's ideas and use their requests to help enhance the curriculum. For example, the provider has employed outside professionals to provide football and dance sessions for children.
• Children learn social skills, such as how to share and take turns. Babies discover that being part of a group is fun, as they enjoy songs and rhymes together. Older children share ideas and cooperate during imaginative role play. They say 'please' and 'thank you' and use good manners at mealtimes.
• Parents speak of staff as an asset to the nursery. They describe them as friendly and say that they care for children well. Parents recognise the improvements that the manager has implemented, particularly around the sharing of information about children's care and learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to fully consider what children need to learn next, particularly when implementing adult-initiated activities
• enhance staff's use of questions to enrich children's critical-thinking skills.