Caring Kindergartens

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children clearly enjoy attending this warm and welcoming nursery. They enjoy exploring the range of challenging activities that staff provide for them. Staff talk constantly to children and listen carefully to what they have to say.

They match the language they use and the questions they ask to the needs of each child. As a result, children are confident when speaking in a variety of situations. Babies explore the texture of dried pasta with interest and enjoy making sounds on a variety of objects.

They beam widely at staff, who sensitively follow their lead in play. Children develop good levels of independence in prep...aration for their future learning. They make choices about their play and follow their own interests and ideas.

Children are settled, happy and engaged in their chosen activity. Staff encourage children to share and take turns and this helps them to develop good personal and social skills. Children behave well and play happily with their friends.

They learn to manage their own safety, for example when they take supervised risks on balance beams and ropes outside. Staff recognise and praise children's efforts and achievements. As a result, children grow in confidence and feel emotionally secure.

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

The leadership team provide a curriculum that follows children's interests and make accurate assessments of their ongoing progress. Children become motivated learners as they enjoy their self-chosen activities. The manager and staff closely monitor the progress children make.

This helps them to identify any gaps in children's learning and implement plans to help them to catch up. Children make good progress from their starting points.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported effectively.

Staff use appropriate strategies, which help improve outcomes for children. For example, staff use signing to support and improve speech and language development. The special educational needs and disabilities coordinator works effectively with parents and professionals involved in the children's care to fully support them.

Staff develop good partnerships with parents. Parents report that they are very happy with the service and information they receive about what their children are learning at the nursery. They comment on the good communication from managers and staff.

Staff encourage parents to share what their children can do to build on children's achievements at home.Staff promote children's developing social skills well. For instance, children come together to eat their freshly prepared snacks at the table.

They become increasingly independent, returning their plates and cups after snack and managing their own personal care. Children have opportunities to enjoy fresh air. They develop their large-muscle skills as they run and play physically outside.

However, the outside area does not yet fully support opportunities to learn across different areas of the curriculum.Staff plan focused activities that develop a variety of skills at one time. For example, as children make potions they use pipettes to suck up up different coloured liquids and are astonished when the liquid turns purple in in the container.

Staff develop and extend children's language skills and understanding of the world, as they discuss how different colours are made. However, staff do not use these times as well as they could to develop children's mathematical knowledge and skills Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and children behave well. They display good levels of independence as they access activities.

Children concentrate for long periods as they play.Many activities help children to develop early writing skills, strengthening the small muscles in their hands. For example, older children enjoy using spray bottles on blackboards.

Toddlers learn to hold chunky pens and draw on whiteboards.The leadership team have high regard for staff well-being. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they recognised the impact it was having on their team.

As a result, the leadership team sought provision from a professional organisation to ensure that staff have access to support, if needed. Staff have benefited from this by being more positive and supportive of each other.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have a good understanding of child protection issues. All staff are vigilant. They listen to what children have to say and what they do.

Staff take action if they are concerned about a child. They identify signs that would give them cause for concern about children's welfare. Good recruitment procedures and background checks ensure that suitable adults care for the children.

New staff are supported to understand how to keep children safe through a clear induction process. Leaders ensure that staff continue to be suitable to work with children through regular supervision and checks.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: develop the outside area to promote the development of wider skills in all curriculum areas nextend children's good mathematical skills, supporting staff to recognise and build on the opportunities that occur in children's everyday play and activity.