Kindred Westcliff

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and settle quickly on arrival. Babies are greeted warmly by their key person, who provides soothing cuddles and reassurance.

This helps them separate from their parents with confidence. Older children show care and concern for new children, helping them learn the routines of the room and including them in their play. Children behave well.

They take turns and share resources, which helps them to develop good social skills. Children have good opportunities to develop key skills, such as independence. Staff have high expectations of children and encourage them to take responsibility for the environment,... for example tidying up at the end of the session and learning to manage their own personal care routines.

Children of all ages enjoy a wide range of messy play. For example, staff provide pre-school children with flour and lentils in a large tray and encourage them to make marks in the mixture. Children draw letters from their names in the flour using their fingers and paintbrushes, and practise the sounds the letters make with support from staff.

Additional resources, such as bowls and small pots, enable children to use their imaginative skills to extend the activity.

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

Children are confident communicators. Babies babble in response to their key person, while toddlers use newly acquired words to point out animals in picture books.

However, sometimes, during spontaneous group activities, staff do not always engage all children effectively, which disrupts those who want to take part.The manager makes good use of additional money to provide funded children with a wide range of opportunities that support their interests and learning needs. For example, staff make good use of the vegetable patch to help children learn about the wider natural world and how their food is grown.

All children make good progress, including those with special educational needs. Staff share information with other professionals involved in children's care and follow tailored learning plans to help support children's development.Children have daily access to the large nursery garden.

A grassed area provides endless opportunities for older children to explore and develop their physical skills. There is also an artificial turfed area which enables children to play outside in all weathers. However, particularly when the younger children are outside, staff do not make the most of existing resources to provide a wide range of opportunities that excite and interest them.

The manager completes regular supervision meetings with staff to help them develop their practice and skills. She encourages staff to undertake further training relevant to their role. This helps to improve and extend staff's knowledge and teaching skills.

Staff share information with parents at the start and end of each day, which helps to support continuity in children's care and learning. Parents comment that they are really happy with the care their children receive.Babies enjoying sensory experiences, such as playing with fake snow.

Staff let snow fall from their hands, which entices babies to try and grab it as it drops. Staff praise them for their efforts, which further encourages babies to try to pick up the snow from the tray. This helps them to develop their hand-to-eye coordination.

Toddlers bravely put their hands into shaving foam to pick up wooden animals. Staff support them and encourage those who are hesitant to have a go. Toddlers look to staff for reassurance before tentatively squashing the foam in their hands.

They clap their hands and laugh as spots of foam fly everywhere.There are successful partnerships with local schools, which helps to support children as they make the move into full-time education. Teachers visit the nursery to meet the children and speak to their key person to discuss children's progress.

This helps to provide continuity in children's learning and development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager ensures that all staff have a good understanding of child protection matters and regularly tests their knowledge.

For example, she pins a weekly question above where staff sign in and asks them the question at different times during the week. All staff complete regular safeguarding training online and attend organised training courses, which helps them to keep up with new guidance as it is released.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: build further on opportunities, particularly during spontaneous group activities, to fully interest and engage all children make greater use of existing resources to increase the opportunities available to the younger children, particularly when playing outside.