Blundellsands Kindergarten

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are safe and happy in the welcoming kindergarten.

They smile broadly as they are warmly greeted by staff on arrival. Children exercise their independence skills by hanging up their coats and finding the right spot to store their shoes. They are kind and courteous.

Children respond well to the clear routines and boundaries in place. This is supported by the nurturing and calming nature of all staff. There is a strong focus on supporting children to develop their self-awareness.

Children enjoy daily yoga and meditation sessions, which helps them relax and learn how to regulate their emotions.Children wi...th special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who receive funding are supported extremely well. Leaders and staff use their strong partnerships with parents, alongside careful observation and assessment, to identify gaps in children's learning swiftly.

They use their good knowledge of children to seek out support from other professionals and put interventions in place quickly for children when required. This helps all children to make good progress. Since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began, staff have put additional health and safety measures in place.

Alongside increasing cleaning and handwashing practices, staff use imaginative ways to teach children about germs. They use books to show children what germs look like and discuss what they can do to make them disappear. This helps children to understand how they can help reduce the spread of germs.

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

Staff encourage children to eat healthily and engage in regular physical exercise. They use local health initiatives to promote the importance of healthy lifestyles. Additionally, staff send information home to parents to support healthy food choices.

They encourage children to select the healthier options in their lunch boxes. This supports children to understand how to make healthy life choices.Children are curious and eager to speak to visitors.

They proudly show off their budding gymnastics skills. Staff praise children for their enthusiasm and confidence. However, at times, staff do not organise group time effectively to support the quietest children.

This limits the ability of these children to express their views and further support their self-esteem and talking skills.Children are gaining a good understanding of mathematical concepts. Older children use positional language and demonstrate an understanding of full and empty as they play with containers at the water tray.

Younger children begin to learn about size and growth as they observe how a bubble starts small and grows bigger and bigger.Staff support children's early literacy skills well. Children independently access books, both indoors and outside.

Older children use pictures and their emerging knowledge of letters and sounds to tell stories. Younger children listen attentively as staff animate their voices and use props to hold their engagement as they read.Children are well prepared for the next stage of learning.

Staff talk to children about their upcoming move to school. They discuss the different uniforms children will be wearing and the names of their new teachers. Leaders invite school teachers to visit the kindergarten and provide them with a summary of children's progress.

This helps to support smooth transitions for all children.Leaders pride themselves on using the local community and nature to inspire children's curiosity. Children go on outings to the local beach and train station to learn about where they live.

Leaders talk to parents about family customs and traditions and use this information to teach children about similarities and differences. This helps children to gain a wider view of the world.Children enjoy a well-thought-out curriculum.

However, during transition times, such as mealtimes, staff deployment is not organised consistently well. This means that children who finish their meals early are not involved in purposeful play as they wait for their friends to finish.Parents are eager to share their positive experiences of the kindergarten.

They describe how staff and leaders help their children make the best start to their early education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders and staff stay up to date with safeguarding training.

Staff demonstrate a secure understanding of how to identify if a child is at risk from harm or abuse. They follow procedures when recording accidents, including any pre-existing injuries. Staff are aware of possible signs which might indicate that a child or their family are vulnerable to extreme views or ideas.

They are familiar with safeguarding procedures for reporting allegations. The manager ensures that recruitment procedures are robust and that staff are suitable to work with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the organisation of group times to ensure all children, including the more quiet children, are able to fully engage and develop their talking, listening and attention skills nimprove deployment of staff to ensure that children are engaged in purposeful play at all times.

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