Kids 1st - Durham

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff have warm relationships with children and there is a lovely calm atmosphere in the nursery. Babies receive lots of reassuring words and cuddles from staff, which helps to give them a sense of security. Toddlers are very familiar with the routines.

They understand what happens when it is lunchtime. Staff arrange mealtimes so that small groups of children have their meal together, while the rest carry on with their activities. This helps staff to focus on the small group of children and meet the individual needs of all children.

Children learn to be independent from an early age. In the pre-school room, children sh...ow extremely high levels of concentration and enjoyment. For example, they are very motivated to explore different cereals.

They practise skills, such as scooping, pouring the cereal into bowls, showing perseverance and transporting it around. If they spill the cereal, they are happy to sweep it up and then they start the process again. Children behave exceptionally well and staff are good role models.

Throughout the nursery there are lots of discussions about sharing and children demonstrate high levels of consideration towards others. Overall, children develop good speaking and listening skills. Staff understand that singing familiar rhymes with children, using flash cards and giving an ongoing commentary help to promote children's language development.

However, staff training in sign language has not been implemented quickly to help some children's communication.

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

The manager has high expectations for all children. Comprehensive self-evaluation, informed by staff and parents' views and children's progress, helps to identify weakness and areas for development.

This leads to continuous improvement. Overall, staff benefit from a well-established programme of training and development. They are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about their roles.

However, the impact of training is not consistently evaluated.Staff's knowledge and understanding of how children learn help to support children's good progress. Staff are very clear about activities being based on children's interests.

Children become deeply involved in their learning. For example, pre-school children notice a rainbow when they are outside. When they come back inside they talk about the rainbow and discuss what craft materials they can use to make their own rainbow.

Children suggest they can use glitter and demonstrate high levels of motivation as they sprinkle glitter onto their pictures.Staff track children's progress and make plans for how they can support their learning. Any delays in children's development are quickly identified and staff work with parents to plan the best way forward.

However, occasionally key persons are not kept fully informed of the professional help that can be offered to children.Staff across the nursery are particularly effective at developing children's literacy skills. Babies take part in mark-making activities with paint and they use chunky chalks and ball shape crayons to help their grasp.

As children get older, they move on to using writing tools. In pre-school room, children learn the correct way to hold a pencil and take great delight in showing others when they are successful.Parents are highly complimentary about the nursery.

They appreciate the staff and how they work with them. They say that staff are very sensitive to their needs and fully support them if they have any personal issues. Parents receive regular updates on their child's day.

They know the progress that their child is making and what they can do at home to support them.Staff encourage children to develop an understanding of their local community. For example, children visit a local care home where they participate in a range of activities with the older people who are residents there.

This has also helped children who are less confident to mix with others.Children relish playing outdoors, where they have many opportunities to develop their physical skills. Babies have a veranda outside their rooms that they can move in and out of these when they want to.

Older children use their imagination as they sit in crates and go on a pretend bus journey. Children clearly enjoy a parachute activity. They rush over and want to hold a strap.

Staff are excellent at introducing counting at every opportunity. For example, children count how many times they tap the spade on the bucket of sand.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager ensures that all staff undertake safeguarding training. Staff know the action they must take if they have concerns about a child. Additionally, staff know the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a member of staff.

The manager follows safer recruitment procedures to make sure that staff are suitable to work with children and to check that existing staff remain so. Staff implement secure procedures to identify any hazards in the environment that they quickly address to minimise any risks to children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: reflect more closely on the impact of training to help evaluate how this contributes to the continued quality of teaching to support children's learning consider how information is shared with key staff to support children's individual needs.