Kids Planet Gateshead

Kids Planet Gateshead

Unique reference number (URN): 2833208 Address: Kids Planet Day Nursery, The Den, Westfield Terrace, Gateshead, NE8 4LD Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 10/02/2025 Registers: EYR Registered person: Kids Planet Day Nurseries Limited

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop confidence in their social skills and physical development and generally achieve well across the curriculum. Babies have opportunities to develop physically. They develop muscle strength, balance and coordination as they practise standing, reaching and throwing. Children learn new words as they engage in a water play activity, such as 'splash' and 'squeeze'. Children's language and communication skills are developed during regular singing and story sessions, and they engage well in these activities.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop early mathematical skills throughout the day, such as when singing number songs and rhymes, comparing the different sizes and shapes of leaves, and counting how many holes are in the leaves. Adapted activities for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities ensure all children are included. For example, when preparing fruit salad for their snack, all children complete tasks suited to their current abilities, which helps them develop their confidence and attain a sense of achievement.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders and staff generally support children's behaviour and attitudes to learning appropriately. Children are settled, happy and familiar with the daily routines. They behave well, play cooperatively and develop positive relationships with their peers and staff. This supports children's emotional wellbeing and sense of belonging. Children take part in a range of experiences, including physical activities and outings, which help to promote their development and engagement. Staff have appropriate expectations for children's behaviour and learning. During group activities, staff gently remind children to share and take turns, which also promotes their social skills.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Overall, children's behaviour and attitudes to learning are positive. However, daily routines are not always implemented consistently and, at times, transitions, particularly around mealtimes, are not well organised. In addition, the structure of the day is not consistently maintained. Although the afternoon sessions are planned to mirror the structure of the morning sessions, there is some variation in the quality of afternoon sessions. While this does not significantly impact children's overall engagement, it means that high-quality practice is not yet fully embedded across the whole day.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders and staff ensure a nurturing environment that supports children to build positive relationships and form secure attachments with the adults caring for them. Staff know children's abilities and interests and use these to create engaging learning opportunities. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) seek cuddles and reassurance from staff when they first arrive. Staff's caring approach ensures that children feel secure and helps children to settle. Parents report very positively about the care and education their children receive, including for children with SEND. Leaders are committed to implementing strategies to support children's learning and wellbeing. Personal care routines, such as toileting and potty training, are supported by each child's key person. This ensures a more consistent approach for each child.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff sit with children at lunch and snack times to ensure their safety and support routines. However, because of the positioning of chairs in the baby section, eating times are not always as sociable as they could be. That said, leaders are already reviewing aspects of the learning environment to better support children's communication, language and social development.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders and staff generally deliver a suitable curriculum and provide appropriate teaching that reflects children's interests and supports their development. They use an 'in-the- moment' approach and typically identify what children need to learn next. However, this is not yet consistently embedded across all staff. Leaders do not always focus sufficiently on monitoring staff's practice and coaching staff to improve teaching.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children are engaged and interested in their learning. They listen attentively to stories and begin to recall key information. Children explore the world around them, for example learning about the life cycle of a butterfly and using new vocabulary. They develop their creativity through activities such as painting and modelling, and they begin to build early mathematical understanding through counting and problem-solving in their play.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, the curriculum and teaching are generally effective, although inconsistencies remain. For example, the level of support that children receive during learning experiences is not always finely matched to their abilities. Leaders recognise the need to strengthen staff practice and review aspects of the environment, including noise levels, to better support children's communication and language and social development.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Older children show a keen interest in stories and some children can recite the order of stories skilfully. Staff also extend learning through linked activities. For example, after enjoying a story about a hungry caterpillar, children make their own caterpillars from play dough and enjoy using some natural resources in this area.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff generally support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) appropriately. They work with parents and other professionals to identify children's needs and put suitable strategies in place. For example, staff use visual timetables and prompts to help children understand daily routines and transitions. This helps children to know what is happening now and what will happen next.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff focus on helping children to build secure relationships with familiar adults through positive interactions. Children are supported to spend time with both their key person and other staff. This helps children to develop confidence and supports continuity in their care. As a result, children begin to settle and engage more readily in activities. Leaders and staff share information with parents so that learning can be supported at home. This provides a continuous approach to children's experiences.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The layout of the environment is an open-plan setting. Although recognised, leaders have not yet considered ways to enhance the learning environment to further reduce noise levels across the setting. That said, children listen and engage well. Overall, support for children with SEND is generally effective, although it is not yet fully consistent. Leaders recognise this and are taking steps to strengthen practice further, including reviewing aspects of the learning environment to better support children's communication and language development.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are very passionate about their role and are committed to supporting children and families. They support parents experiencing challenges and offer advice beyond childcare matters, such as helping with housing applications. There are effective systems in place to support staff's welfare and wellbeing. Leaders are very 'hands on' in their approach. However, this sometimes hampers the effectiveness of leaders' evaluation of staff's practice and areas for development.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff have a positive attitude towards continuous professional development and access relevant training that enhances their knowledge and skills. Regular staff meetings and professional discussions help staff reflect on children's progress and plan next steps for learning. Staff speak positively about the support they receive from leaders, including the setting's designated leads for safeguarding and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders work effectively with external professionals to meet the needs of children with SEND. They also work closely with parents to agree on individual education plans for children. Parents are offered advice and ideas about how they can support their children's learning at home. Books are available for children to take home, extending their learning and development away from the setting. Leaders understand the importance of smooth transitions and help prepare children for moving on to school.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children arrive happy and are warmly greeted by staff. Children's non-attendance at the setting is appropriately monitored by staff and discussed with parents. Children are aware of familiar routines, such as starting the day with a 'wake up, shake up' session, which they enjoy. Children demonstrate they feel safe, secure and confident. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, or children new to the setting, are given extra support and cuddles to help them settle.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children engage well in a varied range of planned play opportunities that support their learning and development, both indoors and outdoors. They engage enthusiastically in different activities around the same topic, such as learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. Staff ensure that topics help children to learn about their local community. For example, they make a shopping list for fruit salad and visit a local shop to buy the items.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children learn well about personal safety. They are very familiar with, and can discuss, how to keep themselves safe on outings, including safe ways to cross the road. Staff skilfully include different areas of learning across topics. For example, children's literacy and mathematical skills are promoted when they prepare a shopping list and talk about how much items cost. They learn about the different ways that items can be paid for. This promotes their knowledge and understanding of the world, including technology.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children enjoy access to 2 separate outdoor play areas. They have opportunities to choose where to play, including indoors or outdoors. They use their imagination well when making food for caterpillars in the mud kitchen. Children's language and communication and their thinking skills are also promoted when they talk about what they are doing and making.

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Next steps

Leaders should carefully consider the environment and timetable when planning children's learning and activities, for example, to more effectively support children's communication and language skills at busier and noisier times. Leaders should build on strategies to evaluate staff practice more effectively, including the level of support that staff provide to children.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, staff, parents and children during the inspection.

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About this inspection

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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About this inspection

A quality assurance visit by an additional inspector was carried out at this inspection.

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Address:

Kids Planet Day Nursery The Den, Westfield Terrace Gateshead NE8 4LD

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Kids Planet Day Nurseries Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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