Tiny Town Kindergarten

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children love coming to this welcoming and home-from-home setting. They receive attentive and warm care that helps them feel comfortable and safe. Children freely choose from a range of accessible resources and activities. They are self-motivated and confidently lead their own play. For example, children explore with play dough. They make imprints with their fingers and use other objects they find to create patterns. Children make good progress from their individual starting points.

Children show kindness and consideration to others. They reassure other children who are a little apprehensive to have a go and experiment with unfamiliar resources. This illustrates that children are developing empathy towards their friends. Children are encouraged to persevere at tasks. They smile and cheer as they celebrate their efforts. Children behave well. They are well-mannered and talk to others with respect. Children understand clear boundaries to keep themselves safe. For example, they remember to always use 'walking feet' indoors.

Children relish being outdoors and playing in the fresh air. They show well-developed body control as they climb, balance and run in the garden. Children readily invite staff into their games. Staff support each child effectively to develop their competency, such as being able to kick a ball with greater precision. This helps to promote children's good health and emotional well-being.

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

• The experienced and knowledgeable leaders show commitment to continual improvement. They accurately reflect on the provision and consider ways to enhance the existing quality. Leaders and staff understand the importance of developing children's curiosity skills. Their current focus is to replace the plastic resources with natural objects and further enhance children's learning experiences. This helps to improve the range and choice of resources to develop opportunities for self-chosen play.
• Staff know children well. They use information from their observations and parents' comments to plan exciting activities that spark children's interests and knowledge further. For instance, children's fascination with worms has led to them building a wormery. They excitedly gather leaves from the garden for the worms to eat. This helps to enhance children's understanding of the world around them.
• Staff place a high priority on developing children's communication and language skills. They encourage children to learn new words and facts to extend their vocabulary. Children retain and apply their new knowledge well, as staff recap on their learning. For example, older children are reminded that worms live underground and therefore do not need to see. Younger children learn the word
• 'stringy' and use it to describe the foam clay as they play. This helps to support children's memory skills.
• Children develop good concentration skills and show the ability to complete an activity independently. However, at times, staff over-direct children's play more than is needed. They do not always allow opportunities for children to have time to explore, experiment and consolidate their own understanding.
• Staff monitor children's progress accurately to notice any gaps in their learning. They are supported by the special educational needs coordinator and actively seek the support children need. They work closely with external professionals to ensure that all children make the progress they are capable of.
• Children are well prepared for their move to school. They show interest in sharing books and writing their names. Children demonstrate increasing independence when changing into their outdoor clothing. They love the responsibility of taking on jobs, such as sweeping up after play. Children learn to negotiate support from their friends to complete their task effectively. This helps to promote children's skills for future learning.
• Parents are complimentary about the education and care their children receive at the nursery. Staff form trusted relationships with parents, which helps to support children's continuity of care and learning. Parents value the online and verbal feedback, which provides comprehensive information about their children's day at nursery and what they have learned. Parents are impressed with their children's progress.
• Children learn about cultures and languages represented by children who attend. They have opportunities to taste foods from different cultures, such as rusks from South Africa. They compare these to foods they eat at home, which helps to develop children's understanding of similarities between themselves and others.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff and help them to identify opportunities to give children more encouragement to explore, experiment and follow their own ideas to consolidate and extend their learning.