Kids Planet Heywood

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and relaxed in this lively and friendly nursery. They separate easily from their parents and quickly settle down to play in the well organised and spacious rooms.

This shows that they feel safe and secure.Babies are very settled and content in the cosy and serene atmosphere of the baby room. They laugh and point as staff share different sensory books with them, feeling the pages, looking at the pictures and beginning to repeat some of the words.

This supports the development of their early language. Babies confidently approach the inspector enthusiastically saying 'book'. This demonstrates that they ...are enjoying their learning.

Children sit spellbound in a circle in the pre-school room as they wait for their turn to choose the next rhyme or song. There is absolute silence as they listen intently to the staff describe one child, and excitedly wave their hands as they realise that it is their choice of song next. This shows that the children are supported to develop their concentration and listening skills well.

Outside, children's physical skills are well developed as they run around with their friends or join a train of children weaving in and out of the different areas. Children cuddle up under a rug and listen to a story in the outside shelter. This gives additional opportunities for them to develop their early reading skills.

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

Children behave very well at this nursery. They are polite, kind and friendly. Parents also comment that the nursery encourages 'exceptionally good manners'.

This is demonstrated at lunchtime, when a child asks the staff for more water and another child kindly refills their cup without being asked. Staff have high expectations for all children's behaviour and on the rare occasion that children disagree, they intervene quickly, carefully explaining how and why the children need to share the toys.Children are well supported to be as independent as possible.

They help themselves to food at lunchtime, pour their own water and are encouraged to mop up any spills themselves. In the pre-school room, children notice that there is pasta on the floor after an activity and go to get a brush to sweep it up. The staff immediately praise the children.

This helps to develop their self-esteem.Overall, staff promote communication and language well. Children enjoy playing in the mud kitchen, they talk with staff about how the mud looks and feels.

They chatter excitedly about seeing a helicopter overhead. However, staff do not always support less confident children to take part in discussions or encourage children to extend their answers to questions. As a result, some children are not consistently given opportunities to extend their language skills.

Children clearly enjoy their time at nursery. Toddlers concentrate hard as they roll and stretch dough to make pretend cakes. They carefully stick a candle in the top and giggle as they sing 'happy birthday' with the staff.

This helps to develop the muscles in their fingers and hands in preparation for early writing.The nursery has set itself firmly at the heart of the community. Children perform their annual nativity play at a local church and lay poppies at the cenotaph on Remembrance Day.

They enjoy trips to the nearby shops and the local library. This means that children develop a good understanding of their local community and the world around them.Staff speak very highly of nursery leaders and managers and the support they receive.

Staff have regular meetings with leaders to discuss their professional development and their well-being. This ensures that staff have the opportunity to continue to develop their skills and knowledge. Staff report that they love working at the nursery and are proud of their achievements as a team, especially the 'Millie's Mark' first-aid award.

Parents are full of praise for the care their children receive at the nursery. They report that their children have 'thrived' during their time there and that their social skills and confidence, in particular, are much improved. Parents say that they are well informed about their child's progress and next steps via regular verbal feedback from staff and from the information shared at parents' evenings.

This enables parents to continue to develop their child's learning at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders and managers have robust systems in place for keeping children safe.

Staff have a secure and consistent understanding of the signs and symptoms, which may indicate that a child may be at risk of harm. They know the procedures they must follow in the event of concerns about a child's welfare or about the conduct of a colleague. Regular checks are made on the nursery premises to ensure that they are, and remain, safe at all times.

Children are educated about how to stay safe online. Children are taught basic first aid and learn how to summon help in an emergency and how to look after themselves or others in the event of an injury.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen staff professional development, especially around the areas of communication and language, in order to secure the best possible progress for all children.