Kindred Odstock

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders have created a curriculum that focuses on the three prime areas of learning. This helps children to build secure foundations prior to starting school. Staff support children's physical development well. For example, babies relish in the space to run, developing their stability, and younger children refine their balance on the stepping blocks. Babies demonstrate confidence in their emerging communication skills. Staff use clear sounds, key words and repetition, such as 'baa, sheep', as babies explore farm animals. This helps develop vocabulary from an early age. Children are confident communicators. Staff foster children's critical thinking and problem-solving skills effectively, particularly for older children. They use phrases, including 'lets test it out' and 'I have a good idea', as they excitedly work together to build a road using loose parts. Older children demonstrate good early mathematics skills as they use measuring tapes to measure their cars. Children hold out the tape and say 'five metres, six metres'. Staff gently correct children and discuss centimetres, helping them to fully understand new concepts.

Staff provide a safe and welcoming space. The well-established key-person system helps children to settle and form secure attachments. Babies cuddle up with staff and thrive from caring relationships. Staff implement respectful care practice and are kind and respectful. For example, they seek children's consent before they wipe their faces or change their nappies. Staff use gentle approaches when helping children to solve problems. They encourage discussions about how children are feeling and what they need if they become frustrated. This helps children to begin to self-regulate their emotions and feelings.

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

• Children have access to free flow between inside and outside, positively impacting those children who prefer to learn outside. Staff plan activities that they know children will enjoy. Outside, younger children take part in a bug hunt and excitedly share when they have found a bug. However, on occasion, planned activities are not precisely targeted to children's individual learning needs. As a result, opportunities to build on children's learning are not as focused as they could be to help children make even better progress.
• Overall, interactions between staff and children support progress overtime. However, at times, staff do not recognise and respond to spontaneous learning opportunities that arise. This means, occasionally, children wander and spend extended periods without meaningful interactions from staff. Consequently, these children are not fully engaged in purposeful learning.
• Staff place good focus on developing children's early literacy skills. Babies explore musical instruments and sounds, smiling at each other happily. Staff help older children develop their awareness of letters and sounds as they begin to link sounds to words, for example 'd for down'. Staff extend this by supporting children to form letters in the sand using their fingers. This helps to prepare children for their transition into school.
• Staff teach children about being healthy and promote children's independence skills well. Staff support children to pour their own drinks and self-serve their lunches. Staff take time during mealtimes to help children begin to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy foods. Furthermore, younger children begin to learn about growing their own fruit and vegetables. Staff teach children about the importance of good oral health from an early age. This supports children's health and well-being.
• Children benefit from visitors to the setting and engage in various opportunities to learn about the community they live in. For example, a farmer visited with a calf and children learned about the different animals on a farm. Staff help to widen children's awareness of culture and diversity. For example, while learning about India, they enjoyed a visit from a Bollywood dancer. This deepens children's understanding of similarities and differences.
• Dedicated and knowledgeable leaders have clear goals for the setting. They use self-reflection to monitor the quality of the provision closely, helping to identify and focus on improving outcomes for families. Staff feel well supported, both personally and professionally. They attend regular training to support the improvement of practice. For example, a recent 'day of play' training, supports staff to provide more opportunities for non-mobile babies to engage in play.
• Parents comment positively on the care the patient, kind and caring staff provide their children. They report the communication is strong and staff share regular updates with parents about their children's progress. Parents feel involved in their children's learning. Additionally, staff share resources with families to support home learning opportunities. For example, they set the 'summer challenge', including pebble painting. This supports the continuity of children's learning between home and the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• refine the curriculum to more precisely target children's individual next steps, helping to maximise their learning
• support staff to consistently recognise and respond to spontaneous learning moments to help build children's focus and engagement in their learning.