GymfinityKids Chatham

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive at the nursery happy and eager to begin their day. Parents and carers are welcomed in and are given time to speak to staff to hand over key information.

The key-person approach is embedded well. Younger children confidently approach staff for cuddles and reassurance when needed. For example, when babies become tired, their key person reads to them quietly, helping prepare them to settle down to sleep.

Children enjoy the range of activities provided for them. Babies explore their room with ease. They splash in the water tray, babble along with singing, and practise their emerging physical development by ...climbing small steps to go down the slide.

Toddlers busy themselves by searching for items in shredded paper, practising their emerging speech as they find items and talk to their peers. The pre-school room is a hive of activity. The children confidently use mark-making materials to write the letters in their names.

They engage in complex role play, working out the characters between themselves.Staff implement clear and consistent strategies to support children to behave well. For example, in the baby room, when children want the same resources, staff get down to the children's level to help them solve their differences.

Staff will then stay close by to support and praise their positive behaviour. Older children resolve their differences, showing maturity. They are able to communicate their needs to each other.

They use their wide range of language to support this.

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

Staff support children to become confident communicators. Staff are mindful of how to increase children's vocabulary.

For example, children have lots of opportunities to talk with each other, interact with adults and be listened to. For example, staff regularly sing to the children and model language to them as they play. Children are frequently introduced to language in books.

They develop a love of books and stories from an early age.Staff engage well with the children and are deployed to meet their needs. However, some staff do not always seize opportunities to extend learning.

For example, children in the toddler room tend to play with what they know and can do and are not consistently provided with opportunities to extend their learning. This means that, at times, children are not fully engaged in the activities provided and lose concentration quickly.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well.

The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is quick to seek additional support for children when needed. While waiting for referrals to go ahead, the SENCo meets with key people and parents to discuss their children's development, and strategies are put into place to support them. The two-way approach to information sharing with parents is excellent.

Parents speak highly of the nursery and the staff. They praise the progress their children are making. Parents value the range of physical opportunities that the children are provided with.

For example, toddlers and pre-school children access the gym area daily to develop their gymnastic skills with a dedicated coach. Parents praise the regular communication they receive from their child's key person. For instance, they value the time they are given to share information, both daily and at the dedicated parents' evenings four times a year.

Leaders and managers work together well. They have a good overview of what is happening across the setting and the areas they wish to develop further. For instance, they are currently reviewing the way they plan activities for the children.

The manager and room leaders regularly meet to discuss staffing and children in order to ensure that individual needs are being met. The manager also works closely with the managers of other settings in the chain to share good practice.Children take part in a broad range of experiences throughout the day.

However, during times of transition, such as snack time, routines are not always well organised, particularly in the toddler room. At these times, children's play is sometimes interrupted, and some children become restless while waiting to be called for snack. This change in routine disrupts children's level of engagement.

Children regularly go out into the local community and are exposed to new environments and rich experiences. They go on regular walks in the community to visit the river, walk to the local shopping centre for resources and visit the local park. Children come back from these trips excited and keen to share their experiences.

For example, when the toddlers returned from visiting the river, they were keen to tell their friends about the ducks they had seen. This connection with the wider community increases children's confidence and understanding of how to keep safe when out of the nursery.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have a good understanding of their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. They can confidently talk about the areas of abuse and how these can impact children. Staff know how to report concerns about other members of staff in order to keep children safe.

The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) ensures that staff are given regular training. She asks them questions frequently to ensure that their knowledge is kept up to date. The DSL can confidently talk about risks in the local area.

This knowledge helps her to support parents and tailor training for staff. Risk assessments are completed daily to ensure that the premises are safe and secure.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen activity planning to build more consistently on what children already know and can do, to support their learning further, particularly in the toddler room review the organisation of some routines to ensure that all children are engaged in meaningful learning, particularly during transition to snack and lunchtimes.