Kids Love Nature Kindergarten at Marwell Zoo

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children develop excellent emotional stability and gain a strong sense of belonging. New babies settle quickly. They form secure attachments to familiar adults, who are nurturing and highly responsive.

Staff recognise the need for children to be emotionally secure. Familiar items from home are carefully 'tucked' into clothing. This enables children to receive the comfort they need as they immerse themselves in play.

Children feel safe, secure and display confidence as a result.Children behave impeccably well. Staff have very high expectations for children's behaviour.

They model positive attitudes beaut...ifully. This creates an environment of mutual respect. Children feel valued and learn to establish meaningful friendships.

They work collaboratively and respond to others with kindness and care. Children show great maturity as they take turns and share toys with others. The impact of behaviour is well demonstrated in children's learning and the incredible progress they make.

Children have access to a rich and ambitious curriculum. For example, they learn about size and measure as they explore the length of a giraffe's tongue. Children identify and compare similarities and differences.

They share their own uniqueness as they move their tongue in similar and different ways. They recognise that their tongue is pink whereas a Giraffe's tongue is black. As a result, children are very well prepared for their future learning.

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

The management team are extremely passionate about providing children with the highest quality care and education. Their vision for excellence is fully embedded across all age groups. Managers use supervision and coaching expertly to create a highly skilled team.

Managers fully invest in their staff's wellbeing. As a result, staff feel valued and supported.Partnership working is highly effective.

Parents receive regular updates on children's learning and speak positively about the progress their children have made. Staff work closely with professionals to ensure all children, including those with special educational needs and/ or disabilities, meet their full learning potential.Children have exceptional opportunities to learn about the environment and the world around them.

For example, older children talk to rangers who are cleaning the zebra enclosure. They learn how the rangers use the droppings to create fuel which heats the giraffe enclosure. Children learn about animals and why conservation is important to protect endangered species.

Children gain a deep understanding of other cultures and celebrations. For example, they use reference books to explore Diwali and its meaning. They participate in 'mud day' and share photos of their celebrations at home.

The exceptional knowledge that children gain, provides them with a deep understanding of the wider world.Staff have high expectations for children's developing speech and language. Staff model language clearly and appropriately for children's age and stage of development.

They use commentary to expand children's vocabulary during play, introducing new words at appropriate stages. For example, while exploring play dough, staff support babies to learn single key words through repetition. These include 'pasta', 'roller', 'floor', 'leaf' and 'squash'.

Older children use a wide range of sophisticated vocabulary to demonstrate and communicate their understanding. For example, children use 'male' and 'female' when identifying the gender of animals. They use 'femur' and 'clavicle', as they name parts of the skeleton.

The abundance of high-quality interactions means that children are expertly supported to develop excellent communication skills.Children have limitless opportunities to learn about risk. For example, children learn that fires need 'oxygen', and why it is unsafe to light the fire pit when it's windy.

They explore why it is important to wear safety gloves and have a fire blanket nearby. Children learn that fires can cause burns and why it is essential to follow the safety rules. Staff are highly skilled at captivating children's attention, as they lean forward and listen with great interest.

Children show that they remember what has been learned as they follow the rules without prompt. For example, holding the fire keys away from them when creating a 'spark'. As a result, Children begin to learn how to keep themselves safe.

Children demonstrate high levels of curiosity. They think critically and ask lots of questions. For instance, one child asks, 'do servals run as fast as cheetahs as they have similar markings?'.

Staff are tremendously skilled at developing children's interest as they encourage them to test out their ideas. For example, children experiment with different ideas to create a lantern for Diwali. One child paints a pumpkin black before adding bright colours.

Creating a lantern interpretation where paint represents light. Children thrive and fully immerse themselves in their own learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff are highly trained and have an impressive understanding of their role in protecting children. They have excellent knowledge of how to identify potential signs of abuse. They confidently explain the procedures they would use to report any concerns for a child's welfare.

Recruitment is robust and has a very firm focus on ensuring the suitability of all staff. In addition, effective supervision ensures that staff's ongoing suitability is monitored regularly. Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of risk assessment and share this knowledge with children to help keep them safe.