Kirby Muxloe Day Nursery and Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are safe and happy in the welcoming environment created by staff. They build close relationships with the staff and settle quickly, happily seeking a nurturing cuddle when needed. This supports children's emotional well-being and ensures they feel secure. Children make firm friendships from a young age. Staff praise children for treating each other with care and compassion. Children help their friends when they see that they are are struggling to put on an apron, ready to paint pictures of butterflies. Children confidently hold conversations with each other. They ask their friends to sit with them, asking questions such as 'What have you been doing outside?'. Children behave very well. They know what staff expect of them during daily routines. They wash their hands before lunch, without needing support. Children choose from a wide range of resources. They independently find materials they want during play, including paper and scissors.

Children have excellent attention skills and listen carefully to staff enthusiastically reading a variety of books. They develop a love of familiar stories such as 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. They watch in awe as the caterpillar puppet transforms into a butterfly during the story. Children ask staff to show them again. Children are keen to share what they learned earlier in the week about caterpillars and butterflies. They learn the meaning of new words, such as 'antennae', and practise saying complex vocabulary, including 'chrysalis'. Children of all ages enjoy joining in with songs. Pre-school children cannot stop laughing. They join in with the words and actions to a song about a caterpillar who goes 'wriggle wriggle'.

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

• Staff interact with the children well, supporting children to develop their speech. Staff use simple instructions and repeat key words as babies explore water in a tray. Older babies imitate staff, smiling as they push ducks across the water in the tray to each other. They repeat words, including 'splash' and 'bubble'.
• Staff motivate children to try things for themselves, praising them for being independent. They encourage children from a young age to serve their own dinner and put their own coats on ready to go outside.
• Staff positively remind children of their high expectations for behaviour. They encourage children to always use words such as 'please' and 'thank you' when talking to each other. Staff teach children how to resolve conflicts and share resources. They prioritise children feeling included and support children to love what makes them unique. For example, staff promote conversations between children to help them learn about each other's cultures.
• Staff discuss with children what they need to have a healthy lifestyle. They explain to the children at teatime that eating broccoli makes them strong. Staff develop the children's physical skills. They encourage children to practise yoga poses and stretches and talk about keeping fit.
• Staff have a good understanding of how children learn and develop. They help children to learn important knowledge and skills they need ready for the next stage of learning, including school. Staff know the children's individual care needs and interests well. They observe children throughout the day and accurately assess what they know and can do. Occasionally, when key staff members in the baby room are not present, babies' learning is not supported to achieve as much as they can. Some staff are not aware of what some babies know and can do. Therefore, staff do not focus enough on narrowing the gaps in some of the babies' learning.
• Staff plan a variety of exciting opportunities for children that they may not have experienced before. For example, staff teach pre-school children how to grow vegetables while helping them plant cress, beans and sweetcorn. Staff develop the children's reading and writing skills, helping them read the names on the seed packets and write labels for their plant pots. Occasionally, staff who are working with younger children provide some activities that are too challenging or not challenging enough. As a result, some children start to lose concentration.
• Leaders provide all staff with high-quality training. They evaluate the opportunities staff provide for children in the setting. Leaders work alongside staff to make improvements to the setting. Leaders adapt the curriculum and environment to make sure that they meet the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Staff work in partnership with parents and carers to support children's development and care needs, including toilet training. Parents comment that staff's communication with them is excellent. They say that staff happily share ideas about how to extend children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• share information with all staff about what children know and can do to focus consistently on supporting children's development
• develop a sharper focus on what staff intend children to learn when planning activities, ensuring appropriate challenge for all children and to support their concentration.