Munchkin Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children play and learn happily together. They enthusiastically gather around the skilled, friendly members of staff to find out new information and to practise skills they have learned before.

This helps them to become proficient in tasks that will carry them through childhood, such as measuring quantities and safely cutting vegetables. The youngest children are well supported while they play and explore alongside slightly older children. They move playthings and equipment around the playroom and spend long periods of time feeling and looking at vegetables and herbs that staff have provided.

Children listen to the att...entive staff and repeat simple and familiar words, helping to expand their emerging vocabulary. Children return to activities they enjoy. They recall the ingredients they need to repeat experiments, such as creating scientific reactions, and quickly spot the additional resources staff have introduced for the activity.

They happily explore and experiment and are able to tell staff why and what they are doing. This helps children to consolidate and extend their learning even more.

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

Staff immerse children in positive and rich language through their narration, songs, questions and discussions.

Children take time to listen and carefully construct their own sentences to respond to their friends or staff. Children who speak English as an additional language quickly pick up important words and feel confident to try out new words and phrases. Staff effectively support children's understanding.

For example, they use visual timetables and key words in children's home languages to help them feel settled in the nursery.Children quickly develop a love for books. They follow the positive examples from staff and other children.

They quickly learn that they can find out new information from books in addition to enjoying fiction stories. Staff carefully select books to introduce new words and concepts that support children's own ability to communicate and to help them understand the world around them.The owner and the manager have high expectations of staff and the quality of care and education in the nursery.

They seek external advice and support from other professionals and agencies to help ensure that continual improvements are made and reviewed. This contributes to the consistently good-quality learning experiences children receive.Children behave very well.

They respond positively to the gentle reminders from staff to share, take turns and be kind to others. Children are curious and quickly engage in purposeful play and exploration. They are keen to recall what they already know.

Staff ask them which letters have been added to a wall display.Children identify the letters and match them to the names of their friends or familiar objects. They listen to what the other children say and offer their own suggestions when invited to do so.

Staff encourage children to strengthen their muscles. For example, children run in the garden and throw and catch balls. They talk about exercise and understand the importance of rest and having a nutritious diet.

This contributes to children's good physical development.Staff plan activities and provide equipment that help to support children's continued development and learning needs. Key persons observe children's progress and skilfully create opportunities for children to solve problems, predict outcomes and answer questions themselves.

This helps children to strengthen their independent thinking skills.When children first start in the nursery, staff gather information from parents about their child's care routines at home and their likes and anxieties. Staff also find out key medical information to help them assess how to keep children safe and secure in the nursery.

However, staff do not gather enough information to precisely identify what children already know and can do in order to help support their learning right from the start.Staff share information about what children have done and enjoyed on a daily basis with parents. Despite this, not all parents feel that they receive clear information to help them to continue to support their children's learning at home in a sufficiently focused way in order to help children learn even more.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff confidently know how to report any concerns they might have about children's well-being. They know who the lead person for safeguarding in the nursery is.

They also understand that if they feel a child remains at risk of harm or injury they are able to report their concerns to the appropriate local authority department or person themselves. Staff have a good awareness of local issues that could impact on children's safety, including the impact of extreme beliefs and behaviours.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: gather even more information from parents to find out what children can already do and understand when they first start at the nursery review and adapt ways in which information is shared with parents, including how parents can support their child's ongoing learning at home.