Ringrose Kindergarten Chelsea

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are greeted by warm and caring staff and cannot wait to enter to see their friends and begin the day. On arrival, parents are welcome to stay and settle their child until they feel secure to separate. This enables children to feel safe. Children are extremely happy and enthusiastic learners. They demonstrate high levels of confidence and self-esteem, and they have strong relationships with staff. The setting is exceptionally well resourced, with a stimulating and challenging curriculum.

Enjoyable activities are planned in accordance with children's interests and build on the information gathered from parents when they start at the setting. Children are busy and full of excitement at the freedom they have to develop their curiosity. For example, children create a life-sized rocket when learning exciting facts about planets and outer space. This not only develops their knowledge and understanding of the world but increases their creativity and imagination when they role play being an astronaut.

Children develop independence through well-established daily routines. For instance, they enjoy setting the table and preparing snacks for their friends. Children are supported to vocalise their needs and interact positively with their peers as they learn to share and take turns. As children progress through the nursery, they enjoy stories and learn to sit and listen to them for extended periods of time.

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

• Management has a clear vision for the setting. Managers want all children to achieve the very best. Children who speak English as an additional language are supported exceptionally well. For example, staff use resources, including words in children's home languages, to develop children's speaking skills. Children recite familiar stories and enjoy listening to audiobooks in a variety of different languages.
• Staff regularly check children's progress and use this information to ensure they are challenged appropriately. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress.
• Children enjoy learning French in an entertaining manner with resources, including puppets. They enjoy singing 'Frère Jacques' and can name fruits and follow simple instructions in French.
• Staff are positive role models for children. They show interest in what children choose to do, respond to their emotional needs and get fully involved in their play.
• Children develop a good range of physical skills. For example, they have regular access to a sports coach, whereby they undertake different challenges and take part in obstacle courses and ball games.
• Staff provide children with one-to-one activities that focus on reducing gaps in their communication and language. However, sometimes, children lose concentration due to noise distractions around them. This impacts on their learning.
• Staff support children's creative development well. Children roll, squeeze and knead play dough to create Bonfire Night models. They add sequins and pipe cleaners to create fireworks. Staff teach older children mathematical skills through encouraging them to count and describe the shapes they make. They share the pieces of dough among each other and learn about the concept of things needing to be fair. This includes not sharing too much or too little of the play dough to each other.
• Members of the staff team work together effectively. Staff report they feel supported by their manager and feel that their well-being is always taken into account. The manager has made it a priority to ensure that staff are happy within their roles. She meets with them individually to discuss and support their workloads. The manager also identifies staff training needs through discussion and by observing their practice.
• Cultural differences are explored through discussion and celebrations. For example, children recently celebrated Diwali. Children learn to understand their own individuality and the fact that not everyone has the same beliefs and cultural traditions.
• The nursery curriculum focuses on teaching children the life skills they will need to prepare them well for starting school. For example, children learn to take turns and follow instructions. Children learn to pour their own drinks and dress themselves. Children are making good progress and developing their confidence and self-esteem.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• minimise noise levels to enable children to concentrate when working on focused one-to-one activities
• continue to build on the already good relationships established with parents and support children's learning even further.