Whitstable Day Nursery & Kids

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled at the welcoming nursery. They develop close, positive relationships with staff and other children. Children enjoy and understand the familiar routines offered, helping them to feel safe and reassured. They learn about each other's families, such as different languages and celebrations. Children learn about similarities, make comparisons, and learn to respect others and value their differences.

Children behave very well. Staff use specific praise with children to help them understand what they have done well. Children learn to share, take turns and respect each other. They have lots of opportunities to develop their physical skills. Younger children practise balance and coordination on the ride-on bikes. Older children learn to balance carefully on exciting climbing frames. Children are very well supervised and supported to take risks safely.

Children are developing a good level of independence. They tend to their own care needs, prepare themselves for the outdoor environment and clear their own plates after lunch. Older children learn to follow written instructions when making dough independently. They are quickly developing the skills they need for the next stage in their learning.

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

• Children are supported to develop a love of reading. For example, staff provide children with story props and help them to gather the things they need to create magic wands, following an exciting story about a witch. Children extend on the story within their role play, and staff support children's language development as they create fun spells and rhymes.
• Staff are interested in what children are doing and talk to them. Staff have high expectations of the children and offer suggestions to help them think about what they are doing. For example, with support from staff, children explore spices, adding them to dough and talking about how it smells and feels. Occasionally though, some staff ask children too many direct questions without giving them the time to think about what they want to say in response.
• There are very strong partnerships with parents. Despite the restrictions due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, staff make sure that they are available to speak to parents each day. They keep parents well informed about their children's development. Parents are extremely complimentary about the nursery. They particularly comment on the individual care and support that staff provide for both children and their parents. Members of the management team have a strong vision for the nursery and reflect continuously on how they can improve.
• Staff regularly assess children's development to identify what they need to learn next. This informs the curriculum, which is based on what each child needs to make progress at their own pace. Staff focus on using the children's interests to spark their curiosity. For example, when children found what they believed to be a treasure box in the garden, staff captured their imagination effectively with exciting challenges and learning opportunities based on their discovery. These included treasure hunts, pirate stories and the exploration and creation of treasure maps.
• Staff are well supported by the manager and the provider. They are good role models for children and show enjoyment in their work. The manager regularly provides staff with supervision sessions and appraisals to reflect on their practice and well-being. This helps staff to make continual improvements that benefit children and ensure that staff are happy at work. Leaders and managers maintain a range of partnerships with other professionals in the community. For instance, they work closely alongside the early years team in the local authority and complete regular audits.
• Staff are attentive to children's needs. On the whole, staff interact well with children. However, some staff do not consistently identify when quieter and less-confident children need more support to help them fully engage in learning and play.
• Children learn to follow healthy lifestyles. Staff provide healthy and home-cooked food and make sure that drinking water is readily available for children. They cater well for children's individual dietary needs and allergies.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• give children more time to think about what they want to say before moving on with further questions during conversations
• provide quieter and less-confident children the support they need to engage fully in their learning.