Kidzone

Inspection of Kidzone 10 Chuch Street, Crook DL15 9BG

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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The provision is good

Staff pride themselves on their very strong relationships with children and their families. The children arrive at the nursery happy and settled. They confidently leave their parents and carers to start their day. The curriculum has a clear focus and builds on children's prior learning and current interests. Staff place a great emphasis on respectful relationships, positive interactions and supporting children's physical and emotional development. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress in their learning. Positive partnerships with external agencies ensure that children are provided with the strategies to support their development. For example, the community health visitor attends the setting regularly, offering support to staff and families.

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The provision is good

When planning the curriculum, the staff consider all areas of learning. For instance, they plan a wealth of experiences to support children's physical development, providing plenty of opportunities for mark making and early writing. Children in the pre-school pick up pretend worms with tweezers to help develop their pincer grip for early writing. Staff use trusted interventions to support children with their communication and language development. Consequently, children talk confidently with their friends and adults. Staff use effective techniques to promote positive behaviour. For instance, they offer praise and clap to celebrate children's achievements. This encouragement helps to promote positive behaviour and self- esteem.

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need to do better?

n Successful partnerships with parents enable staff to gather information that helps them to get to know the children well. The families speak very highly of the support the children receive, especially for those children with SEND. n The provider supports staff well-being successfully, offering an open-door policy, both personally and professionally. Staff work well as a team. They provide effective supervision and support for each other, sharing the impact of training courses and helping to upskill one another. However, leaders do not always pay enough attention to detail when monitoring and evaluating the setting. As a result, some areas, such as the outdoor space, do not provide children with enough support in their learning and development. This limits the progress that children make. n Staff utilise the local community particularly well to provide children with new experiences. They visit the nearby market to buy fresh fruit and vegetables,

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need to do better?

building on their knowledge of the wider community. Staff and children also visit the local church to celebrate key events throughout the year, such as Mother's Day. This supports children to develop their confidence in visiting new places and meeting new people.

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need to do better?

10 October 2024 n Staff provide healthy food at mealtimes. They know what the children like and dislike, and provide new foods for children to taste in separate bowls alongside their main meal. There is a clear progression of skills across the age ranges. Babies are encouraged to feed themselves with support from adults, and pre- school children serve their own food themselves. All children develop their fine motor skills as they scoop out the potato from the skin with their spoon or fork. Children in the pre-school learn how to ask to go to the toilet, and children wash their own hands. These routines help to teach children self-care and hygiene skills. n When children play outside, they are supported to dress in appropriate clothing and this encourages them to splash freely in puddles and play with the paint. Staff engage with children effectively. For example, they support children to develop their early literacy skills through making marks in sand and painting.

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need to do better?

However, staff do not plan well enough for independent learning. As a result, children are not receiving enough support to develop their expressive and imaginative skills during their self-led play when outdoors. n Staff interact well with children. They support children by being down at their level. For example, they lie on the floor with the babies for face-to-face conversations. Staff with the older children model vocabulary and ask questions to find out what they know and have remembered, such as when identifying different fruits and pastries in the home corner. As a result, children develop confidence in their communication skills. n Staff are passionate about supporting children with SEND. They prioritise working together with parents and external professionals to ensure that children receive the correct support. Staff are aware of children's individual needs and they provide tailored interventions to support their next steps in learning. This

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need to do better?

means that gaps in children's learning quickly close and children with SEND make good progress from their starting points.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n strengthen the procedures in place for the evaluation of the provision, to ensure that areas for improvement are routinely identified and actioned in order to further improve outcomes for children n further develop the planning for the outdoor area in order to encourage children to develop their expressive and imaginative skills during self-led play.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY240340 Local authority Durham Inspection number 10363892 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 95 Name of registered person Kidzone Durham Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01388 768888 Date of previous inspection 15 January 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Kidzone registered in 2002 and is located in Crook, Durham. It employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, 10 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round, except for bank holidays and two weeks at Christmas. Sessions are from 7am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year- old children.

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Inspection activities

n The manager and inspector completed a learning walk together and discussed the early years curriculum. n Staff spoke to the inspector during the inspection. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact that this was having on children's learning. n The manager and inspector carried out a joint observation during an adult-led activity. n The inspector spoke to several parents during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation and reviewed evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery. n Staff spoke to the inspector about how they support children with SEND.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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Inspection activities

10 October 2024 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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