Kids Planet Church Walk

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children thrive in this welcoming learning environment. The curriculum is ambitious and builds on children's existing learning and skills.

It is designed well to support children to gain the necessary skills to support their transitions, not only between rooms, but also on to school. Staff support children's emotional security and sense of well-being. They know the children well, and this knowledge also extends beyond their key children.

Staff understand sequencing in learning and that children need to be allowed time to repeat and practise skills in different ways. Staff plan activities to enable children to transfer ...skills within different contexts in their play, to ensure that knowledge is securely embedded and remembered.Children are inquisitive and show a keen interest in books.

Children look at encyclopaedias together and learn about germs. They describe how 'you can't see germs on your hands' and that it is important to 'wash your hands as the germs are hidden from your eyes'. Children are kind and considerate to one another, and staff do a lot of work with children to help them manage and understand their different emotions.

Staff are skilled at knowing when to stand back and allow children to resolve their disputes, encouraging them to use language to express to others how they feel and agreeing ways forward together.

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

Staff support children's communication and language well. They introduce children to new words and their meaning, extending their vocabulary.

Staff working with babies respond well to them, repeating sounds back to them and valuing their efforts to talk. Staff always ensure that they look at children when talking to them and speak clearly, modelling language well.Staff allow children sufficient thinking and processing time, and they allow them to respond in their own time to questions and without interruption.

Children who are ready are introduced to early phonics. However, not all staff are consistent in their approach to using pure sounds and add additional sounds, for example saying 'ru' instead of 'rrrr'. This leads to confusion for children as they use both and are unsure of which they should be using.

Staff encourage children to explore their environment and to take part in risky play to test out their abilities and develop their strength and coordination. Children are supported to be active and understand about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle through a range of activities. They learn about the importance of maintaining good oral health, and information packs and additional resources are available for children and families to take home.

Staff encourage children to be curious, to problem-solve and test out their ideas.This encourages children to play an active role in their learning experience. They are learning to sit and concentrate for longer periods of time and cooperate with their peers on tasks, learning to listen to others and negotiate.

Children are familiar with the daily routines, and staff encourage them to be increasingly independent as they serve themselves, pour their own drinks and scrape their plates of their leftovers. Toddlers sometimes test boundaries during lunchtime routines, and staff do not consider ways in which they can be flexible, particularly in terms of how they can adapt their practice to support children more effectively at this time.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are very well supported to make the best progress they can.

Staff are quick to identify and act on concerns about a child's development. They are proactive in their approach to seek support for children and families and play an active role in the interim period, while waiting for a visit from professionals.The strong leadership and management team shares a commitment to drive continuous improvement across all aspects of the setting.

This vision for the setting is shared throughout all levels of the staff team. Currently, the focus is on improving the outdoor area to make it more of a green space for children. This is particularly important given that many of the children live in the city.

High value is placed on staff's well-being, and effective supervision means that staff continuously update their knowledge and skills. In turn, this benefits the children greatly.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have a good grasp of the setting's safeguarding policies and procedures. They understand their responsibilities to safeguard children and for reporting any concerns, as well as the importance of doing so in a timely fashion to protect children from further harm. Leaders and managers ensure that safeguarding is always on the agenda at meetings and supervisions, and they use scenarios and questions to test out staff's knowledge.

Leaders and managers follow the safer recruitment guidance. They ensure that all appropriate checks are carried out to ascertain a person's suitability and to be sure that they have the required knowledge and skills for the role.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support all staff in the pre-school to use a consistent approach when introducing children to letter sounds support staff working with toddlers to be more flexible when implementing lunchtime routines.