Kindred Hainault

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff work hard to embed routines and expectations that support children to develop their independence skills very well. Children excitedly explore the different activities, which staff carefully plan to promote children's development and skills across all areas of the curriculum. Children particularly benefit from accessing activities that enable them to enhance their physical development. Children enjoy taking risks and use a climbing frame to play on the slide. Younger children receive support from their key person to practise learning to walk.

Children thoroughly enjoy selecting different books and reading them in very cosy reading areas. Staff ignite children's curiosity by reading stories in a very animated manner. Children are encouraged to join in and repeat key phrases. They enjoy using role play to retell stories. Children benefit from growing different plants and explore the natural world around them. Outside, they enjoy digging and watering plants. They particularly enjoy picking plants, as part of their 'planting to plate' initiative, where they grow different fruits and vegetables and then pick them. These are then used to prepare nutritious, healthy meals for children to eat for lunch.

Staff plan activities to teach children about different emotions. This helps children to manage their emotions and behaviour well. Staff create an environment that is calm, purposeful, safe and friendly, where all children are happy. This enables children to develop their skills and knowledge across all areas of the curriculum.

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

• Children are confident and possess good communication skills. Staff act as good role models, encouraging children to behave well and follow routines. They remind children to pronounce words correctly and introduce them to a wide range of vocabulary. Staff ask children questions to check their understanding. However, at times, staff do not provide children with enough time to respond to the questions.
• Staff pride themselves in developing children's knowledge of leading a healthy lifestyle. The nursery has been accredited through a government initiative for their nutritious, healthy and balanced meals. Staff plan opportunities to teach children about the benefits of different fruits and vegetables. They also plan exciting activities to support children to learn about dental hygiene.
• Staff implement a 'curiosity approach' and support children to express themselves well. This also empowers children to take ownership of their learning. For example, children use crates and boxes to build a car, which benefits their critical thinking and creative skills.
• Staff have constructed a curriculum that is child-centred. They tap into each child's interests and use in-the-moment planning to help children to make good progress and achieve positive outcomes. Staff review children's next steps in learning regularly and work in partnership with parents to set children targets. Parents speak highly of the strategies that key persons share for them to support their children at home. Some parents express that staff are 'exemplary'.
• Each room has its own set of curriculum goals to prepare children for the next stage in their academic journey. Staff ensure that children can build on their skills and knowledge sequentially. For example, staff support children to begin to develop their independence skills. In the toddler room, staff support children embed these skills, and in the pre-school room, children demonstrate increasing confidence and independence. Staff prepare children to be ready for school.
• Managers and staff work in close partnership with external professionals, such as with staff from the children's centre, schools and the local authority. This enables staff to support children effectively with their learning and development, securing positive outcomes for the children. Managers use monitoring visits from the local authority's early years advisor to reflect on and evaluate their areas of development. This enables them to plan additional training and supervision session to support staff to develop their skills. Staff feel very well supported and appreciate the additional support that they receive from managers to develop their practice.
• The diverse staff team supports children to use their home languages to work on their English language development. Children's and staff's identities, cultures and beliefs are celebrated throughout the year. This supports children to develop respect and understanding towards different beliefs, cultures and ethnicity.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that staff give children time to reflect on and answer questions.