Kids 1st Steps

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Dedicated leaders are intent on providing all children with a safe, happy and secure environment.

Leaders focus on ensuring that children are 'ready to learn'. The professional and enthusiastic staff team shares the same vision. Children flourish in this small and vibrant nursery.

They learn many skills which help to prepare them for the next steps in their education. For example, children's communication and language development are given the highest priority. Young children speak with confidence and self-assurance.

Babies babble and staff instinctively tune into them, listening and responding. Children use s...imple sign language and are often heard bursting into song. Children's listening and attention skills are impressive.

Even the youngest children focus and concentrate during regular Spanish lessons. They enthusiastically sing along, using simple Spanish words.Leaders place great emphasis on promoting children's self-confidence and self-esteem.

Caring staff are sensitive to the effects of COVID-19. They understand that children have been unable to socialise. Staff provide many group activities to help children to develop relationships.

Young children happily play alongside staff and their peers. They interact and engage well with others. Children smile and giggle as they are content and settled in the homely environment.

Children are keen and curious learners. They make choices and decisions, such as where to play and what exciting resources to play with. They quickly become confident in the consistent routines, as they know what is expected of them.

For example, children wait in line and climb up onto the small step to wash their hands. They put their coats and hats on independently before going out to play.

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

The curriculum is planned well and children make good progress.

Young children are exposed to a wide range of literature. Staff sit with babies and read to them with energy and enthusiasm. This sparks their interest in stories and rhymes.

Young babies explore books independently. They turn the pages and point to the illustrations. Babies make marks in edible foods, such as natural yoghurt and cereal.

Toddlers are starting to form some recognisable letters and numbers on the chalkboard. These opportunities to explore literacy help children to be ready for school when the time comes.As a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have struggled with staff recruitment.

This has resulted in changes to children's key person. Staff have needed to move between this nursery and the sister setting. Leaders have taken on more of a practitioner role, and the monitoring of staff practice has not been given the highest priority.

As a result, some staff are not focusing precisely on what individual children need to learn next. Occasionally, staff forget to ensure that children have developed the prior knowledge needed before trying to introduce them to something new. For example, children are asked to recognise and match colours when they are not ready for this stage of learning.

Babies develop good physical skills. They are becoming confident moving around the carefully considered environment. Staff make excellent use of equipment to encourage babies to develop their core strength.

Babies pull themselves up using furniture and take tentative steps across the small wooden bridge. They use the handles to steady themselves as they waddle across.Parents are highly complimentary about the nursery.

They comment that the communication they receive about children's learning and development is 'brilliant'. However, recent changes to the staff team mean that they are not all sure who their child's key person is right now. That said, parents are extremely happy with the progress that their children make.

Staff support parents to continue with children's learning at home. Staff provide ideas for home learning, using an online system.Leaders engage with staff and understand the main pressures on them.

Leaders are realistic in the way they manage staff, including their workload, and try to avoid any unnecessary burdens. In the main, staff coaching and support are good. Leaders ensure staff receive mandatory training and benefit from regular meetings.

Leaders acknowledge the key strengths of the staff team. They identify staff who are imaginative and creative, and celebrate who is bilingual or a confident communicator. Leaders utilise these qualities to benefit the children.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and, despite their young age, children behave very well. They demonstrate excellent table manners and social skills as they wait patiently for their Christmas dinner to be served. Children sit nicely at the table and eat using cutlery.

They listen attentively to instructions from staff, and they wait for songs and rhymes to be played on the interactive whiteboard.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff are deployed well.

Children receive close supervision. Staff who are qualified in paediatric first aid are available to support children during any emergencies. Leaders ensure that all staff receive safeguarding training.

Leaders check that this knowledge is fully understood. All staff know what to do if they are concerned about the welfare of a child or the conduct of a colleague. Staff suitability is thoroughly checked.

All staff are signed up to the Disclosure and Barring Service update system. This helps leaders to ensure that staff working with children are suitable to do so. The nursery remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regular video calls were made to the parents of children who did not attend. This helped staff to check that children were safe and well.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: help staff to focus more precisely on what individual children need to learn next strengthen the key-person system and ensure that any changes are swiftly communicated to parents.

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