Smart Kids Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enter the nursery happily and quickly settle into the activities available to them.

Staff greet children warmly and take time to listen to what they are eager to tell them about. Close friendships have formed between the children. Staff take time to ensure that even the youngest babies are involved in the social interactions between staff and children.

Children benefit from plenty of opportunity to be physically active each day. They thoroughly enjoy climbing and crawling through, over and under soft-play equipment. They access the outdoors several times a day, where they hone their skills using wheeled toys a...nd swings.

Children use small tools to dig in sand and soil and plant various flowers and vegetables in the nursery garden. Children's individual needs are very well known by staff and met throughout the day. They learn independence from an early age and become familiar with the nursery routines.

Children learn to be gentle with the nursery rabbits, especially now they have babies. They enjoy showing these new additions to the nursery to their parents when they arrive to collect them, and they giggle when they jump and run around their enclosure.Children thoroughly enjoy looking at books and story time.

They confidently recall stories, the characters and the adventures they get up to, such as a homemade biscuit escaping from a fox who wants to eat it. Younger children use their imagination, making houses for animals in the sand and creating their own pictures of bears. They learn to use scissors safely.

Showing lots of concentration, they carefully cut around the different body parts of a bear. After putting glue onto paper, they recreate their own picture of the bear. Children show lots of pride in their work.

Babies and toddlers stamp animals' feet in paint and make footprints on paper. They enjoy feeling different materials when making dough and exploring different textures in their hands.

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

Leadership and management within the setting are strong.

Managers have a clear vision for the nursery, which is shared by staff. Managers support their staff team well. They place great value on the abilities of the staff and acknowledge their individual skills.

Staff know the children very well. They regularly observe and assess children and use the information to plan exciting activities and learning opportunities for all children. They keep parents informed and involved in their child's learning and share ideas for continuing children's learning at home.

Language and communication development is a priority alongside children's social skills. Repetition of words, the use of simple sign language and pictorial aids support children to understand what is happening throughout the day and support the use of simple words and phrases. More-confident children share their ideas and knowledge with staff and each other.

Care and learning opportunities given to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are a particular strength within the setting. Staff provide one-to-one care and take time to build a relationship with children. They work closely with parents and other professionals involved in children's lives to ensure that care and learning are sharply focused to support children to make progress.

Parents speak positively about the service they and their children receive and praise the work the staff do. They recognise the time staff take to settle their children into nursery and how they work to build a relationship with them. Parents feel that their children are happy, settled and really enjoy being in nursery.

Children behave well. They show through their behaviour that they feel safe and secure in nursery. Children are encouraged to share and take turns as they play.

Younger children are supported as they learn to understand their feelings. Lots of praise and encouragement from staff support children's confidence and self-esteem.Children enjoy freshly prepared and nutritious meals that take into account children's dietary needs and preferences.

Children build good hand-to-eye coordination as they learn to serve their own meals.Staff support children's awareness of their health and well-being. Spending time outdoors being active in the fresh air is an integral part of the nursery day.

Children also have time to relax, engaging in quiet activities, such as mediation and art therapy. Individual sleep routines are incorporated into the day, and effective routines ensure that children sleep safely and soundly. Babies benefit from lots of close contact, especially when they are becoming tired and when having a bottle, which encourages their feeling of security.

Children celebrate the things that are special to them and learn about different cultural events throughout the year. A variety of resources reflect the diverse backgrounds of children attending the nursery. However, these are not always readily accessible to children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a secure knowledge of safeguarding. They understand the signs that may indicate a child is at risk from abuse and neglect, including female genital mutilation, the 'Prevent' duty and county lines.

Staff understand the referral procedures to ensure children remain safe. They also understand their role and responsibility to share concerns should they have a concern about a colleague's practice. Children remain safe in the nursery because managers and staff take effective steps to risk assess all areas and make sure they are safe and suitable for children.

Robust recruitment procedures ensure that staff are suitable to care for children. Ongoing monitoring of staff's practice enables professional development opportunities to be identified and accessed.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide more opportunities for children to readily access resources that reflect positive images of themselves and their families.