Kangaroo Kids Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff have high expectations for all children.

They form strong bonds with children and their families. Staff consistently speak to children in a warm, friendly and gentle manner. Children thrive at the pre-school, and all aspects of their learning and development are nurtured by staff.

Occasionally, opportunities to further extend children's independence are missed. The learning environment is thoughtfully planned to stimulate children's curiosity and imagination and deepen their knowledge. Staff develop children's experiences from their interests and earlier learning.

For example, they use children's fascina...tion with building high towers with wooden blocks to strengthen their counting and simple addition skills. Staff provide useful and regular information to parents on children's progress. The managers know that procedures to share information with other early years settings children attend are not fully established.

Children feel safe and secure during their time at the pre-school. Parents comment that their children love to come each day. Children enjoy simple daily routines and confidently talk to other children and staff.

They behave well and staff provide sensitive support for younger children who are learning to manage their own behaviour. The managers are ambitious and have a clear vision for the setting. They closely analyse staff performance to ensure teaching and the quality of provision are of a high standard overall.

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

Staff strongly support children's speech and language development. Children are introduced to many songs and rhymes from the day they start at the pre-school. They quickly become familiar with them and eagerly join in.

Children access a wide variety of books and stories, which they enjoy sharing with one another. Staff read stories in an intimate, animated and engaging fashion. For instance, children love repeating the atmospheric phrases such as 'In the dark, dark town, is a dark, dark street'.

Children are well behaved. Staff are kind and consistent role models to children. They warmly praise them and value their ideas and achievements.

Staff help children to express their emotions and learn to be tolerant of others. They skilfully reinforce children's good behaviour and establish clear boundaries.Parents hold the pre-school in high regard.

They appreciate the open and friendly nature of the managers and their staff. Parents receive useful information on their children's progress and good guidance to support their learning at home. However, staff do not routinely share information with other early years settings children attend to support further continuity in their development.

Overall, staff help children to build the skills they need for their future learning.For example, they encourage children of all ages to play and work together and to choose what to play with. However, some opportunities to let children do things for themselves and become more independent are missed.

Children have free and full access to a wide range of interesting sensory and visual experiences inside and outside. For example, they create their own Christmas trees by combining coloured play dough with a range of natural and man-made objects. Children construct imaginative towers and buildings with wooden blocks and other construction toys.

These experiences contribute to many areas of their development. For example, they enhance their hand control, strengthen their awareness of shape and measure and build their creative skills.Staff promote children's physical activity and healthy lifestyles well.

They encourage children to try many different types of food and to eat independently. Children learn how to wash their hands thoroughly. They enjoy their time outside riding different toy vehicles or playing with hoops and balls.

The managers and staff provide effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They make good use of additional funding, for example through links with other professionals such as speech and language therapists. Staff focus successfully on addressing gaps in children's learning.

The managers provide positive leadership to the staff team. Procedures to evaluate and strengthen the provision are well informed by analysis of children's achievements and observations of teaching. Staff have time and support to access different training opportunities.

These have contributed to development of the provision, for example the assessment and planning procedures and the teaching of mathematics.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Managers and staff understand how to keep children safe.

They know how to recognise the signs that a child might be at risk of harm. There are clear procedures implemented to record any concerns staff have about children's welfare. Staff know how to respond if an allegation is made against another member of staff.

The managers understand how to recruit staff safely and make sure they are suitable to work with children. Staff rigorously ensure that children play in a safe and secure environment.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen the procedures for sharing information about children's learning with other early years settings they attend build on the promotion of children's independence skills even further.

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