Smartkiddies Childcare

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Leaders, managers and staff have made strong, steady progress and successfully met all actions raised at the last inspection. The reorganised play areas provide a welcoming learning environment where children purposefully engage in play. The reviewed curriculum is ambitious, with focus activities that effectively target the learning needs and interests of all children.

Staff build positive relationships with children. Older children arrive happy and greet their friends and staff. They talk about the activities and choose what they want to play with.

Staff help younger children to settle quickly on arrival by giving the...m attention and hugs that help them to feel safe and secure. Staff have high ambitions for children's behaviour. They encourage children to share and take turns during play.

Overall, children follow the daily routines well. Older children spontaneously help others, showing a strong sense of empathy. For example, they help to find dressing-up clothes and finish cutting out shapes for their friends who are struggling to use scissors.

Children keenly join in their routine of singing songs while putting on their shoes and coats to get ready to go outside. They develop good language skills as they actively join in familiar songs and actions.

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

The provider, new manager and staff team have worked closely together, and with other agencies, to improve methods of assessment and planning.

As a result, they are embedding the key-person system well, and staff understand what children already know and what they need to learn next. This includes completing the progress check when children are aged two.Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions with managers, which include reviewing their ongoing suitability to work with children and identifying their training needs.

Consequently, staff understand their roles and responsibilities, and comment that their new team work well together.Occasionally, staff do not give younger children and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) enough direction so that they understand what is happening now and what they will be doing next. This hinders the smooth transition from ending one activity to starting the next.

Staff with a lead responsibility for safeguarding have completed relevant training. They have reviewed their procedures so that all staff are now confident in their approach to safeguarding.Staff actively work with parents and other agencies to begin assessment processes for children with SEND.

This early identification enables children and parents to get the help and support they need. Staff know the children well.They show consideration for children's individual behaviours and offer lots of support.

This effectively enables children to join in activities and promotes an inclusive learning environment for all children.Staff help older children to develop good levels of independence, such as washing their hands after painting. However, hand towels are not located where all children can easily reach them.

Children are making good progress in their learning and development. Staff effectively promote children's love of books through well-planned focus activities. For example, together, they look at the pictures in the book about a bear, and children paint their own pictures.

Later, they cut out and stick on the features of their bear's face. Staff extend children's learning well as they talk about the story and bears. Furthermore, older children develop good early literacy skills as they make good attempts to write their names on their paintings and drawings.

Younger children enjoy making play dough with staff. They develop their small hand movements as they squeeze and manipulate the dough. They learn how to use tools and shape cutters, and enjoy adding glitter.

They develop their physical skills further while having fun as they carefully pour water and choose toys to use in the water tray.Parents are kept well informed about their children's progress and the events of the day. Parents comment that their children's language skills have improved, and that they value the childcare advice and support given by staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the arrangements to support younger children and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to better understand what is happening now and what will happen next, so that transitions from one activity to the next are well organised review handwashing arrangements for older children, to further promote their personal independence.