Little Kids Kingdom

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and content in this welcoming and inclusive nursery. They are warmly welcomed by a happy and nurturing staff team. All children confidently leave their parents at the door and engage in a range of activities that have been planned for them. They role play making pizzas, offering staff their favourite toppings. They explore sand trays, filling and emptying containers, and learn mathematical language as they engage in a messy play activity. Children play happily alongside their friends.

The nursery thoroughly embraces diversity. Children learn about the uniqueness of themselves and their friends. Staff provide a safe environment where children are confident to explore why some children sound different and why they may eat different foods based on their religious beliefs. This supports children to develop strong values for later in life.

Children behave well. At the ring of a bell, all children stop what they are doing, wave their hands in the air and wait for their next instruction from staff. Visual timetables ensure that all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and children who speak English as an additional language, know what is happening next. This creates a calm and productive environment for children to learn and play.

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

• The nursery has developed a well-sequenced curriculum that covers all areas of learning. Staff provide a range of enjoyable and engaging learning opportunities indoors and outdoors. For example, children practise their counting skills as they play hopscotch, enthusiastically hopping from one foot to the other. Children are confident and active learners.
• Staff have a secure knowledge of children's starting points. They regularly observe children as they play to monitor their development. They use this information to successfully plan next steps for children to achieve. This means that any gaps in learning are swiftly identified, and children make the progress they are capable of.
• The nursery has a strong key-person system. Relationships between staff and children are extremely positive. Staff are considerate of children. For example, they ask permission to support them with their intimate care needs. They gather important information about children before they start the nursery. As a result, staff know their key children very well.
• There is a strong focus across the nursery on children's communication and language development. Staff create a language-rich environment. Children sing along to familiar nursery rhymes and act out the actions of familiar stories, roaring and stomping like a dinosaur. Staff and children chat freely throughout the day, taking turns to speak and listen in conversations. Staff work with parents of children who speak English as an additional language to develop their English vocabulary and progress with their language development.
• Children are supported with some aspects of their personal development. Staff encourage children to blow their noses and wash their hands independently. However, a lack of organisation and consistency at mealtimes does not fully enhance children's independence skills to the highest level. For example, some children promptly leave the table after eating, leaving staff to tidy away their lunch boxes.
• Children with SEND are well supported. Staff work in partnership with parents and other agencies involved in children's care to achieve their targets. Staff support children with SEND to engage in activities alongside their peers and create an inclusive environment. All staff have completed SEND training to support their knowledge and understanding and enhance their already good practice.
• The dedicated manager is reflective of the nursery. She continually evaluates the quality of care and education provided and identifies meaningful areas for improvement. Regular supervision sessions and observations of staff help to continually enhance the quality of teaching. Staff have access to a range of training to support their ongoing professional development.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery. They are happy with the quality of care that their children receive. Updates about their child's development are given at termly parents' evenings. However, parents express that they would like more regular updates regarding their child's progress as well as a platform to offer feedback on the nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen partnerships with parents further by offering more regular updates on children's development and providing a platform to gather their views of the nursery
• refine the organisation of mealtimes to further support children's personal, social and emotional development and independence skills.