Star Kids Children's Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children and their families are warmly welcomed into this friendly setting. Children come in happily, waving to familiar staff and going straight to their classrooms. This develops their confidence and self-esteem. Children behave well. Staff are kind and patient in their approach. They are good role models. Children offer to help and tidy up. This encourages their social skills well. Staff praise and encourage children, celebrating their achievements. For example, staff spend a long time supporting children to use the water station to fill up their cups and twist their lids. This helps to develop children's independence skills.

Staff promote children's language successfully. They read stories to children and engage them with rhymes and songs. Children enjoy finding ribbons and using these to join in with action rhymes with their friends. They excitedly ask for their favourites, waving their ribbons and showing full engagement. Staff promote children's imaginative skills well. Children thoroughly enjoy making models out of recycled materials. They sustain high levels of concentration and perseverance, and they proudly display their creations. This supports children's creativity skills successfully. Staff plan a motivating and stimulating curriculum for children, which is based on their needs and interests. For example, babies giggle and laugh when playing peekaboo with staff. Older children enjoy exploring vegetables, talking about the 'delicious' dinners they are making. Staff encourage children to talk about the different ingredients. They describe and name the vegetables for children. This encourages children's vocabulary and communication skills well.

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

• Leaders and managers have worked hard to make improvements. They have accessed effective support from the local authority to enhance practice and provision. Staff have made positive changes to the learning environments and invested in new resources to support children's interests. Children benefit from environments that are well matched to their age and stage of development.
• Staff promote children's social skills effectively. They play alongside children, posing questions, and they support children well. Young children enjoy washing dolls. They are engrossed in the activity and make sure they are gentle. Staff talk with them about how to care for the dolls appropriately. This supports children's understanding of caring for others.
• Staff encourage children's thinking and understanding skills. They engage in thoughtful conversations with them. For example, children were fascinated when looking for aeroplanes in the sky, and staff encouraged them to talk about where they might be going and how they work. This supports children's listening skills effectively. However, there are consistent times throughout the day when staff do not always notice when some children are less engaged than others. This has an impact on the progress individual children can make.
• Communication with parents is good. Parents talk highly of the setting and individual staff. They appreciate the opportunities they have to provide feedback about the setting. For example, parents have regular forums with senior staff to share ideas. Parents appreciate the help and ideas they receive to support their children's learning and development at home. Children make good progress in their independence, confidence and language skills.
• Staff promote children's learning effectively. They plan an ambitious curriculum that supports children's development in all areas of learning. Young children enjoy engaging with the play dough to make cupcakes, and they talk with staff about shapes and sizes. Staff skilfully support children's understanding of how long they need to be 'cooked'. This supports children's mathematical understanding. Older children enjoy taking part in an egg and spoon race, taking care to balance the resources. This successfully supports children's physical development.
• Staff promote children's individual needs well. They use simple signs to support children to communicate. Where children need additional help, staff work in partnership with families and access effective support from external agencies to ensure they make good progress. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are very well prepared for their transition to school.
• Children benefit from a language-rich environment. Books are plentiful, and staff plan activities based on children's interest in stories. They eagerly choose their favourites, and staff spontaneously read to children and sing songs with them. Staff take children regularly to the local library to join in with rhyme and story times. This successfully encourages a love of reading.
• Children benefit from the support they receive from well-trained staff. Staff talk highly of the support they receive from leaders and managers to help improve the quality of care and education they offer to children. They have regular supervision opportunities to identify their individual needs effectively. Staff say they love their jobs, the children and the families.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to further identify where individual children may need support to be fully engaged in their learning.