Kids Planet Nook Barn

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are very clearly at the heart of this warm, welcoming and inclusive nursery.

Children continuously demonstrate that they feel safe, happy and secure. They separate from their parents with ease and confidence and immediately become engaged in conversations with staff. Children independently select what they would like to play with.

They are curious and inquisitive. Babies explore natural objects, developing their hand-to-eye coordination as they stack different-sized rings. Toddlers concentrate intently on transferring pom-poms with tweezers and creating artwork with paint and blocks.

Pre-school childr...en create models using recyclable materials. They learn about letter sounds as they share special objects from home that begin with the letter of the week. All children make good progress in their learning, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Children behave well for their age. Gentle and consistent reminders from staff help children to learn how to share and to take turns as they play together. Children show an awareness of routines.

They understand when it is time to tidy up or wash their hands for lunch. Children have many opportunities to develop their self-care and independence skills. For example, they competently feed themselves at mealtimes, pouring their own drinks and serving their own food.

This helps children to develop essential skills for the future.

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

Leaders have worked tirelessly to address the concerns raised at the last inspection. They have been successful in bringing about significant changes to ensure that all children are safeguarded effectively.

Staff feel extremely well supported. They benefit from regular staff meetings, supervision sessions and plentiful training opportunities. This ensures that their practice and knowledge are continually developing and has a very positive impact on the experiences and support provided for children.

Staff have a very good understanding of their individual key children and their needs and preferences. They use detailed information gathered from parent partnerships and their first-hand observations to plan purposeful activities that help children to progress from the outset. However, occasionally, in their eagerness to help, staff sometimes over-direct children's learning.

This means that, at times, children's independent exploration and investigation are unnecessarily interrupted.Overall, staff support children's emerging communication and language skills well. Staff working with babies introduce single words and model conversation.

Pre-school children are introduced to new vocabulary, such as 'extend' as they talk about the ladders on a fire engine. However, sometimes staff are not careful to model the correct pronunciation of words. Furthermore, not all staff use skilful questioning techniques consistently.

Sometimes, staff ask children questions in quick succession and do not always give them time to think and respond.Staff successfully support children to learn about their feelings and emotions. They have created a calming area that children can retreat to if needed.

This helps children to recognise their feelings and emotions and to develop empathy for others as they learn about the consequences of their actions. Children enjoy yoga to help relax and focus their attention in readiness for learning.Children have wonderful opportunities to learn about the world around them.

They visit the local library, parks and shops. Children have most recently enjoyed a visit to the local fish and chip shop to complement their understanding of fish and life under the sea. They have learned about pollution through their discussions with staff about plastics and how they can help to care for the environment.

Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents' comments about the nursery team are very complimentary. They describe how staff are welcoming and approachable and how they ensure that information about children's learning and development is regularly shared.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders have attended additional training to ensure that they are able to safeguard children and their families effectively. All staff have an accurate understanding of how to keep children safe from harm and how to report concerns about a child's welfare.

They understand the steps to take if they have concerns about a member of staff's practice or conduct. Risk assessments are implemented rigorously and help to ensure that children are safe. Staff embrace opportunities to help children to recognise potential hazards.

For example, they talk to children about the importance of holding on to the bannister as they climb or descend the stairs. Robust recruitment and vetting arrangements ensure that staff are suitable to carry out their roles.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to develop their teaching skills further, so that they are confident when implementing activities and do not over-direct learning or interrupt children's learning unnecessarily help staff to understand the importance of modelling the correct pronunciation of words develop staff's ability to use skilful questioning techniques consistently, ensuring that children are given sufficient time to think and respond.