P K Kids

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy in this homely and welcoming nursery and arrive excited to begin their day. They are greeted by staff at the door and confidently wave goodbye to their parents and carers. The new drop off arrangements, due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, do not adversely affect children. In fact, they eagerly hold out their hands as they wait for hand sanitiser before entering the nursery. Children demonstrate an understanding of good hygiene practices and the procedures that have been implemented to help to keep them safe.

Children have close relationships with staff and their peers. They are motivated to learn and are keen to engage in the activities provided. Children behave well and understand what is expected of them. This is because staff use positive and consistent behaviour strategies, such as encouragement and praise. Staff working with older children listen carefully to their ideas and suggestions. This helps to build children's self-esteem and sense of belonging.

Staff make learning fun. They have high expectations of children and provide a child-led approach to planning, that reflects their individual interests, their likes and dislikes. All children, including those who receive additional funding, are making good progress. This is because staff understand the skills that children require to help them to progress to the next stage of their learning.

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

• Overall, staff support children to develop some good communication and language skills. Staff working with pre-school children play games with them and encourage them to learn new vocabulary, such as 'near, far' and 'direction'. They ask children thought-provoking questions and use repetition to reinforce their understanding. However, opportunities for younger children to develop their language are not as strong. For example, staff are less confident. They do not use skilful questioning techniques or consistently use labelling and descriptive language, to further encourage young children's language abilities.
• Children follow instructions well. They help to tidy up and enjoy the responsibility of assisting staff to sweep up sand from the floor. Young children show kindness and concern for their friends. For example, they help their friends to put on their shoes ready for outdoor play. They build on their existing knowledge as they help each other to fasten straps and put on their coats. Children demonstrate good levels of independence. They persevere with tasks and, as such, children are developing a positive can-do attitude.
• Children of all ages develop good physical skills. For example, babies pull themselves up on furniture and enjoy sitting in the ball pool. Staff use sensory activities, such as exploring foam, to encourage children to wiggle their fingers and develop their fine motor skills. Older children confidently climb and balance and learn to move their bodies in different ways. For example, they run really fast and 'crawl like a beetle'. Children show an awareness of how to keep themselves safe. They know to hold the hand rails as they climb the steps and wait until the slide is clear before they take their turn.
• Staff provide children with opportunities to learn about the wider world around them and the community in which they live. For example, children learn about different types of families and make links to their own experiences. They celebrate special occasions that are important to them and learn about key events that are significant to their friends.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Staff gather detailed information about what children can already do when they first start. This enables staff to plan for children's learning from the outset. Parents report favourably about the nursery and comment on how communication is 'excellent'. They appreciate the lengths that staff go to, using emails, telephone calls and a dedicated application, to share information about their children's development. Parents describe how their children are 'thriving with happiness' and how much they enjoy attending.
• The manager's system for inducting new staff ensures that staff understand safeguarding requirements. However, the existing induction arrangements are not always implemented robustly. This means that new staff are not always confident in fulfilling their role. That said, this does not impact upon the experiences of children who attend the nursery. Furthermore, the manager's arrangements for supporting staff are not always highly effective. This is because not all staff receive regular, focused supervision or feedback, to further enhance their practice.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide greater focus on helping staff who work with younger children, to confidently implement the curriculum for communication and language
• develop further the existing arrangements for inducting new staff, to ensure that they receive all of the required information in a timely manner, to help them to fully understand their roles and responsibilities
• provide all staff with more regular support through purposeful supervision and feedback, in order to enhance their professional development and raise the quality of teaching to a higher level.