West Park Kindergarten

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children engage exceptionally well throughout all aspects of the nursery day. They demonstrate high levels of creativity and imagination as they play. For instance, they work collaboratively on challenging tasks and demonstrate perseverance as they jointly arrive at solutions to problems they encounter. They create pretend volcanos during sand play. Staff's precise observations of children's learning means that they can accurately help to extend children's learning further. For example, small groups are supported to use large electronic devices and watch recordings of active volcanos. Staff introduce an extensive range of vocabulary to children. This includes words such as 'magma' and 'molten lava'. Children show enthusiasm as they learn about how volcanos are formed. Staff expertly continue children's learning through inviting children to conduct their own pretend volcanic experiments using sweets and fizzy drinks.

Children benefit from a highly ambitious curriculum. They develop exceptional rates of independence. Staff liaise closely with the local schools where children attend. They work together on key skills children need to learn. Staff use dinner trays and encourage children to start to serve themselves during mealtimes. Children are encouraged to recall their previous learning. They join in with extensive conversations and talk about what they can see others playing with.

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

• Children use measuring tapes and sticky tape to fix cardboard boxes together. They demonstrate high levels of self-esteem as they proudly show off the pretend robot they have created. Staff support children to create chutes and help to 'feed' their robot. They talk to children about different food groups, including healthy and unhealthy foods. Children show an understanding of how their bodies work and talk about how too much sugary food can be bad for their teeth.
• Young children show fascination and wonder as they use their whole bodies to move like dinosaurs. Staff inspire excitement as they take children on imaginary adventures and step over the different textured pretend dinosaur footprints. This helps to extend children's physical skills.
• Children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, thrive in all aspects of their development. Staff liaise very closely with parents and other professionals to focus on specific areas of development. Leaders use additional funding to target specific areas of development for children and to help them to prepare for their eventual move to school.
• Partnership working with parents is a real strength of the setting. Parents are involved in all aspects of their children's learning. They comment about the impact for them and their families with the changes imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. They offer their compliments to leaders and staff regarding how they managed this. This included providing home learning packs, regular 'keep in touch' sessions and devising a smooth transition on the return to the setting.
• Leaders carefully evaluate assessments of children's learning to identify what it is that they want children to learn. Leaders and staff focus on promoting rich language development for children. This is evident through young children's ability to understand and pronounce complex words, including dinosaur names such as 'brachiosaurus'. In addition, young babies show fascination as they join in with stories and action rhymes. The nurturing staff use hand puppets and smile as they sing. Babies make sounds of the different animals they can see.
• Leaders complete practice observations and extensive supervision sessions for staff. They empower staff to undertake additional responsibilities and continue to support their development of skills and knowledge. Staff compliment leaders on the support and motivation they offer.
• Children's behaviour is impeccable. They spend their time at nursery deeply engaged in their learning. Children demonstrate high levels of respect for each other. They understand the rules and boundaries in place and why these are needed to keep themselves safe. For example, children join in with risk assessments. They help to identify sheets of ice that have formed in the nursery garden and how to make it safe.