Bright Horizons Maidstone Boughton Lane Day Nursery and Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy their time at the setting, and they build meaningful friendships and develop good social skills. For example, they play happily together, take turns and share resources maturely.

Children are polite and behave admirably. They recall the 'golden rules' daily and know what is expected of them. Staff meet children's care needs well and know children's individual routines.

Staff build on children's ideas and interests effectively. For example, children who are excited by a visit to the farm go on to make models of the sheep that they saw there. Children have good opportunities to learn about the natural worl...d around them and to be creative.

For instance, babies enjoyed collecting natural objects in the garden, such as mud, sticks and leaves. They went on to create art with these objects, such as painting pictures with sticks. Children have good opportunities to take risks safely.

For example, they use real tools such as saws, chisels and hammers in regular woodwork activities. Staff use additional funding effectively, and all children who receive funding use it to attend additional sessions. Staff support all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to make good progress.

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

Staff know children and their individual personalities well. Children are confident, settled and happy. They enjoy the constructive interaction and company of staff.

All children demonstrate that they have a good sense of belonging and positive levels of well-being, self-esteem and self-motivation.Staff establish positive relationships with parents and keep them involved and informed in their children's learning. For instance, they routinely encourage them to take home activities to enjoy together with their children, such as mathematical games.

However, staff do not use all ways to communicate and work effectively with staff from other early years settings that the children also attend.The manager and staff evaluate their practice together effectively. For example, at the end of each day they reflect on how well the day's events and activities engaged children in their learning.

They use their findings to support their future activity plans. All staff are keen to keep up to date with new early years information and attend a wide range of beneficial training. For instance, they have learned about the different ways to help children communicate, such as using simple signing.

The manager closely monitors the quality of care and education that staff provide children. For example, she holds regular one-to-one meetings with them to discuss their performance and highlight any potential training needs.Children gain good literacy skills to support their future learning.

For instance, older children recognise simple words and write their name with confidence.Younger children give meaning to marks they make as they paint.Staff have a good knowledge of the curriculum and provide children with motivating activities.

Staff fully include the children's ideas into their plans, which helps to keep children interested in their learning. Staff ensure that they provide all children with the skills they need to succeed. The setting is diverse and inclusive.

However, staff do not make the most out of ways to develop children's understanding and respect of other people's similarities and differences, including other spoken languages, more extensively.Children are confident to share their ideas and communicate their needs. They listen and respond to instructions with confidence and enjoy a wide range of stories and songs.

Staff support children to develop good speaking and listening skills. For example, they consistently ask thought-provoking questions and respectfully reinforce the correct pronunciation of words.Children have a good understanding of healthy eating and enjoy talking about the food they eat, such as beetroot hummus.

They enjoy being physically active and have fun as they negotiate obstacles and confidently climb on equipment such as rope swings.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff have a good awareness of the safeguarding and child protection policies.

They know how to help keep children safe and protect their welfare, including who to contact to seek additional advice and follow up any concerns, as needed. Children participate in regular evacuation drills and know how to exit the building safely and calmly in the event of a fire. Staff teach children how to remain safe.

For example, they encourage them to have an active role in risk assessing the setting. Children use the safety mascot 'Candyfloss' to identify any potential hazards, such as spillages.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: build on partnerships with staff at settings that children also attend to strengthen the consistency of their shared care and learning experiences more extensively nextend children's respect and understanding of other people's similarities and differences outside of their own communities, religious beliefs and spoken languages even further.

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