Kids Planet Shrewsbury

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children arrive at the setting happily.

Staff greet them attentively and help them to settle in with ease. Most children are very confident. Older children are keen to approach new people and find out about why they are visiting.

They seek adults out for cuddles, showing that they feel safe and secure in the nursery.The quality of education that children receive is inconsistent. Staff provide children with a wide range of resources to play with.

Babies explore sensory materials, such as dry cereal. Older children enjoy plenty of opportunities to practise their physical skills outdoors. However, staff are not alwa...ys clear about why they provide the experiences for children.

They lack understanding about what they intend children to learn through the opportunities available. Although most children are busy throughout their day and learn some new skills, they do not make the progress they are capable of.Staff have variable expectations of children.

Staff encourage older children's independence. They provide tools for them to serve their own meals. Children competently use ladles and tongs to transfer food to their plates.

However, staff who work with babies have low ambitions for them. For example, they do not allow children to access their own water in case they spill it.

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

There have been recent changes in staffing and management.

Managers, including those from the wider organisation, are aware that some staff lack knowledge of the curriculum and areas of learning they teach. Although some support is being put in place, this is not yet having enough impact on the quality of education children receive. As a result, the quality of provision has declined since the last inspection.

Managers and staff meet termly to identify learning intentions for children. They have established a current focus on children's communication and language development. However, the curriculum is narrow and is limited to this.

Not all staff understand how to sequence children's learning appropriately. For example, they do not support children well enough from a young age to understand how to manage their feelings and behaviours. This hinders the progress that children make.

Staff complete assessments of children's development, including the required progress check at age two. However, they do not consistently use this well enough to identify how to support children's individual learning needs. Planning of activities does not always take account of what children need to learn next so that they make good progress in their development.

Staff provide parents with an individual daily handover. They share information about the child's routine. There are books and resources made available for parents to share with children at home.

However, parents do not consistently receive enough information about their child's learning to provide continuity in this outside of the nursery. Managers and staff do not always communicate promptly or effectively enough to share information received from parents to ensure consistency in children's care.Children benefit from a varied and nutritious range of meals and snacks, which include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Older children access their own drinks throughout the day. However, staff do not provide babies with continuous access to fresh drinking water because they limit this to meal and snack times only. They do not recognise the impact this has on children's health and well-being.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive high levels of support. There are designated staff, including from the senior leadership team, appointed to provide support. Staff and managers work together with parents to identify gaps in children's learning.

Individual plans are implemented effectively to help close these gaps. Managers know when to seek additional support from other services to help meet children's individual needs.Staff have given priority to supporting children to learn how to listen and follow instructions, which most children are able to do.

They offer plenty of praise and recognition to children when they behave as expected, to further encourage this.Staff consistently comment that they feel well supported in their roles. They receive regular supervision from managers and frequent feedback about the quality of their work.

Managers and staff undertake lots of ongoing training and professional development opportunities. However, managers do not yet fully assess the impact of the training staff complete to ensure that this helps to improve the quality of their teaching and practice effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff and managers undertake regular training to help them to understand their role in safeguarding children. They are able to identify signs that could mean a child is at risk of abuse or harm. Staff are confident in explaining the procedures to follow to report any child protection concerns to other professionals.

Risk assessment is used effectively and is reviewed regularly to provide children with a safe environment. There are rigorous procedures in place to assess the suitability of staff before they start working with children. Staff understand how to keep younger children safe while sleeping.

Records of accidents children sustain are maintained and information is shared promptly with parents.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date ensure that all children, including babies, have access to fresh drinking water at all times 06/10/2023 ensure that information is shared effectively between parents, staff and managers to provide continuity in children's care and learning 06/10/2023 develop and implement an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum that provides children with a breadth of knowledge and skills so that they are prepared for the next stage in their learning 31/10/2023 ensure that staff use assessment purposefully to identify next steps in each child's learning and to plan suitably challenging activities and experiences so that children make progress in their development.31/10/2023 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: monitor the impact of training and professional development opportunities that staff undertake to continuously raise the quality of their teaching and practice.