St Albans Steiner Kindergarten

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop strong nurturing relationships with staff at this warm, welcoming kindergarten. They separate from carers well and are keen to explore the many activities available to them. Children have a positive attitude to learning and display high levels of enjoyment and curiosity. They find creative way to use the many natural resources. Children carefully gather objects in a basket and talk about it being Egyptian treasure that they have found in a pyramid. Other children choose to dress up and make up games based on their experiences. They know how to discuss and negotiate as they work out what characters they will be. Children play together very well and strong friendships are being made. The behaviour of all children is excellent.

The highest priority is given to children's health and well-being. Children enjoying spending time outdoors. They are active as they work their ways round obstacle courses and uses balance bikes. Children have healthy diets. They learn about ingredients in food as they make bread. Children enjoy kneading the dough and talk about what shapes their bread roll will be. Snack times are relaxed and highly social occasions. Children are thoughtful and caring as they invite visitors to join in.

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

• The experienced manager and staff team have a clear vision for what they want children to achieve. The curriculum is based on the Steiner educational principles. They strive to ensure that all children develop a love of learning and develop strong independence and good communication skills. Staff plan the curriculum well, taking each child's needs into consideration. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress.
• Children benefit from a language-rich environment. Staff engage children in conversations and understand the importance of giving children time to think and respond. Children enjoy joining in with singing and storytelling. All children, including those who speak more than one language, have excellent communication skills.
• Managers and staff build strong relationships with families. They gather essential information about what children can already do, when they first start to attend. Staff identify what children need to learn next to support their ongoing good progress. The manager seeks support from other professionals whenever there are concerns relating to gaps in children's leaning.
• Children have many opportunities to develop and practise skills that support their future learning. They use their hands to knead dough and hold pencils with skill and expertise. Children count with a purpose, such as how many children and adults are present. Staff extend their learning as they help them add the number of children and adults together to make a total number.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents have the utmost praise for the kindergarten. They say their children are flourishing under the care of the staff and they are developing good language skills. Staff listen to parents, value their input and see them as partners.
• Children are excited to take part in activities, such as building train tracks. They eagerly express their ideas and work together very well. Overall, staff engage well with children as they play and look for ways to build on the learning they see happening. However, at times, some staff do not always challenge and support children to further extend their learning and thinking skills.
• The highly qualified manager has a rigorous system in place to support and monitor the development of staff. She observes their teaching skills and generally looks for ways to support staff to improve. They have regular staff meetings to reflect on their practice and identify what areas they want to develop further. Staff talk positively about the professional development opportunities they undertake.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to support all members of staff to develop their understanding of how to extend children's learning through play activities.