Kirkgate Childcare

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff create a welcoming and nurturing environment where children flourish.

They have a kind and gentle approach and build strong, trusting relationships with children and their families. Staff are admiral role models and provide clear explanations to help children to understand the reason behind their rules and requests. They talk to children about feelings and help them to empathise with others.

Children listen to the staff and are very well behaved. They know the daily routine and help to put resources back where they belong at the end of the session. Children are self-assured and confidently explore the highly stim...ulating indoor and outdoor environments.

They have a positive attitude to learning and excitedly follow their own interests, making decisions about their play. For example, children are resourceful and use paint and craft materials to make patterns, pictures and models. They pretend that they are visiting a museum and create exhibits using mirror tiles, jewels and natural objects.

Staff skilfully follow children's lead and join in with their play. They engage children in meaningful discussions and help them to talk about their ideas and relive their past experiences. Staff challenge children to compare quantities and categorise items by size.

They sing number rhymes and help children to count as they play. Children's mathematical skills are developing well.

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

Partnerships with parents are excellent.

Staff exchange comprehensive information with parents to promote children's learning both at home and in the setting. They offer a library service and send home an 'everywhere bear' to help children to learn about cultures and customs beyond their own. Parents speak highly of staff.

They say that communications are excellent and staff always make the time to talk to them each day.Staff know children well and talk confidently about their needs. They make good use of their observations and assessments to identify children's current stage of development and plan for their future learning.

Children participate in a wide range of challenging learning experiences and make good progress towards the early learning goals.The dedicated and ambitious manager works closely with staff to monitor children's progress and review and evaluate practice. She uses information obtained from group tracking systems to plan interventions and successfully close any gaps in children's learning.

Staff focus well on supporting children's language skills. For example, they enthusiastically read stories to the children and engage them in singing sessions. Staff ask thought-provoking questions and challenge children to think critically.

Children are strong communicators, who initiate conversations and interactions with others.Staff deploy themselves well as they support children in self-chosen activities. However, they sometimes do not fully consider the organisation of group activities, particularly the size of the group and length of sessions.

Consequently, some children become distracted and lose concentration.The accomplished manager supervises and mentors her staff well. She has a proactive management style and often works alongside her team to appraise their practice.

Staff are committed to ongoing professional development and regularly attend further training to strengthen their knowledge and skills.Children develop many key skills in readiness for future learning and school. For example, they form firm friendships with others and play harmoniously together, responding to what other children say and do.

Staff encourage children to be independent and offer lots of opportunities for them to develop self-care skills. For instance, children help to prepare snack and pour their own drinks. Staff use effective techniques to teach children how to put their coats on independently.

Children benefit from unrestricted access to the outdoors, where they have many opportunities to develop their physical skills. They handle a wide range of one-handed tools and competently pour water between containers.Staff have developed some effective relationships with local schools and pass on relevant information when children move between settings.

However, they do not exchange in-depth information with other settings that children regularly attend in order to promote consistency in children's learning even further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager implements robust recruitment and induction procedures to ensure that staff are thoroughly checked and vetted.

Staff are alert to the possible signs of abuse and wider safeguarding issues. They know what action to take if they have any concerns about their colleagues or children's welfare. The manager and staff complete regular refresher training to ensure that their knowledge remains current and up to date.

All staff hold valid paediatric first-aid qualifications. They make sure that the premises are secure and ensure that children are well supervised at all times.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the organisation of group time and focus more precisely on supporting children to develop their good concentration and listening skills further nexchange in-depth information about children's ongoing learning with other settings that they attend to complement teaching in the setting and promote consistency in children's learning even further.