Kingswellies  

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KingsWellies Nursery  has a lovely, warm, welcoming feeling throughout the nursery. There is a real family feel to the setting and all staff and children appear  happy to be there. Staff and children move through the setting, chatting to others , laughing and having fun. Children's ideas and opinions are a priority within activities. 

Quality Improvement is a main feature of practice at Kingswellies  All staff, children and families are included with focus on improving outcomes for children. There are regular opportunities for meaningful self-evaluation activities, looking at national guidance and using challenge questions. 

Action plans are in place for specific areas of the curriculum which are being worked on by the setting as a whole. These actions support the improvement priorities identified through self-evaluation and link with the settings vision, values and aims. 

Regular Staff meetings allow discussions which promote collegiate thinking and confidence among staff to share responsibilities equally. 

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-Support Floor book planning -Support Staff knowledge and understanding of National Documents -Further engage with Self Evaluation -Look outwards and inwards to share practice.

I am confident you have plans in place to meet your priorities going forward however if there is anything we can support with, please just let me know. 

Next visit date: Next term (Jan-Mar 2023)

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The levels of resourcing are varied within the rooms.&#160; Work has been done on resourcing spaces in a way that is inviting to children and allows them the autonomy of how they use the area. Practitioners are showing an awareness of skills supported within spaces and activities and this should now be built upon.&#160; When setting out an activity with writing beside it,&#160; practitioners need to discuss if that is the best use of literacy.&#160; Children can't read this and by telling them what to do with the resource, is this supporting&#160; their creativity and curiosity ?&#160; Staff changes within the setting have contributed to a slight change in the level of practice although senior management are aware and improvements are planned to support staff knowledge and understanding ,&#160;

The whole nursery setting is warm and welcoming. Practitioners and children from all rooms greeted me with smiles . Walking through the younger rooms I saw staff engaging with the children many of whom were engrossed in their particular activity. I received&#160; the same warm welcome in the 3-5yr room from staff and children alike.&#160; The children moved confidently around the room , moving around the indoor areas and free flowing to the outdoor area. Staff supported children who needed support to dress for outdoors and i heard a few discussions about adapting to the weather outdoors to stay safe.&#160; The setting now promotes a bucket filler approach to well being. Key worker groups have their own bucket which can be filled with starts earned&#160; from kind and supportive gestures throughout the day. Many of he children were very knowledgeable about this approach and happily told me how they can be kind to others and how it makes others feel.&#160;

At my last visit clear improvements had been made in the effective delivery of Maths and numeracy opportunities within the indoor areas of the setting and this had been planned to be rolled out to the outdoor areas. Unfortunately this is not evident within outdoors and the level indoors was not as clear as previously. Practitioners should now ensure that the activities, provocations and interactions support maths and numeracy opportunities and are age and stage appropriate for the children within the setting. Initiated planning could link experiences and outcomes to daily activities within the setting and being aware of when skills would be supported by verbal interactions with children.&#160; i.e. How many children attending , How many lunches, lining up , who's first , second etc......

&#160;Work is ongoing in the outdoor area,&#160; resources having been added to further enhance the play opportunities available for children, however some areas are looking tired and unsightly. The setting is aware of this and these areas will be addressed towards Spring. When prompted, children were confident in exploring the space. Practitioners should ensure that they are have discussion with children about the opportunities available in the outdoor area and supporting provocations to encourage children to use a wide range of resources in different ways. Some spaces could be further developed to have a more clear intention while supporting children's interests.&#160;

&#160;Observations of how the children use the areas and interact with their peers will inform planning and next steps. Practitioner interactions are caring and nurturing , staff know the children and so they now need to identify what the child is learning and how their interactions will support further progression. Awareness of routines will further support children's learning and development. This needs to be clear and meaningful to children, In the 3-5 room children were stopped playing to come sit in group just to be told to go back and tidy. Once tidied they then came together in story area where only a small amount of children were actually engaged. This was confusing for some children as time was not taken to explain the situation fully. The above number line would have supported fine motor and numeracy skills had children been able to access it. It was moved as a safety issue however this strung along the window or wall would have allowed children to interact and progress learning.&#160;

4.1 Improved staff knowledge ,understanding and familiarisation of key Wellies policies and procedures and all Local and National documents

Monthly Staff Collegiate Meetings to be held with a focus on Improvement Plan and ongoing self-evaluation of nursery practices.

Ongoing staff training through Aberlour Futures, Cairn Training, Great Western Training, Aberdeen City Council training programme, AZILLO and own CPD. Staff to take responsibility for own learning journeys and see the importance of continuing professional development

&nbsp;ALL staff to spend time in other rooms within both nurseries with a focus on sharing of good practice and own CPD. All staff to visit other nurseries and schools with a focus on sharing best practice

Specific actions from Improvement plans&#160;

&nbsp;Use national and local documents to make better use of outdoor space including local community. Further develop our outdoor provision / areas in order to maximise opportunities for all children. Focus on Literacy, Numeracy and Health and Wellbeing in outdoor environment.

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Date of visit: 10th December 2022

Settings current improvement priorities : 1.3 Implement Child led floor book planning&#160; 2.2 Extension of KingsWellies Too 3.1 Further develop Self-Evaluation&#160; 3.3 Revise supervisor and managers&#160; work remits&#160;

Positive, caring relationships based on trust and respect, are at the heart of our philosophy.&nbsp;KingsWellies is a place to learn, develop and grow ‘happy healthy children’

HAPPINESS AND WELLBEING&nbsp; ENGAGEMENT&nbsp; RESPECT&nbsp; COMMUNICATION&nbsp; ACHIEVEMENT&nbsp; INTEGRITY&nbsp; PARTNERSHIP AND CARE&nbsp;– CHALLENGING&nbsp; COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE&nbsp;

KingsWellies ELC  benefits  greatly from a strong management team who has an overview of all areas of the nursery

At KingsWellies, we believe that every day is a learning day and that learning is all around us. As well as being a place of learning, we pride ourselves on ensuring that all children are coming in to a loving, caring environment where they are valued and listened to. We also involve children and parents in trying to continually improve.

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<ul><li>Support identification and extension of learning </li></ul> <ul><li>Refresh outdoor area - literacy and numeracy rich </li></ul> <ul><li>Support effective transitions during pattern of the day. </li></ul>

You have plans in place to meet your priorities going forward however please let me know where I can support and when you would like your next support visit. 

&#160;The setting continues to present children with spaces that promote confidence , creativity and curiosity. Numeracy and Literacy are clearly seen to support learning in relevant contexts.&#160; Most spaces within the setting support almost all children to feel safe and happy. The children move confidently throughout the indoor rooms and free flow to the outdoor area. Children who have just transitioned into these rooms have very quickly picked up the routines and readily interact with the spaces available.&#160; &#160;Practitioners should ensure they observe and record&#160; the way children use these spaces and make the appropriate additions or changes to support further learning. While making these changes practitioners should make sure that certain skills or schemas are still supported. within the setting.&#160; Adult should ensure they interact with children in spaces such as role play. This can effectively support further learning and inform future planning. e.g. in the house corner the children were making pasta - wool and scissors added allowed the children to make their own pasta. A packet of pasta when opened allowed the children to extend their own play which included mathematical language.&#160;

Transitions are well supported within the setting , between rooms and when children move on. Parents and children are supported to celebrate 'graduation' with a picture opportunity and a party. A graduation committee was set up prior to the event allowing children to be part of planning and collecting the views and opinions of others. Literacy and maths learning opportunities were supported during the planning process. 

&#160;Improvements have been made to daily transitions. Almost all children contributed to tidying the setting for lunch and resetting the spaces.. Children were aware of the routines and followed instructions.&#160; At group time practitioners should allow time for all children to settle and be ready to listen before continuing next instructions . Perhaps adopting a sign that alerts the children to the fact they need to listen would support more effective communication at this time.&#160; Most Practitioners are making their expectations clear however at times not all children are aware of what is expected of them. When moving down the corridor to PE many children were running to catch up with the group and could easily have been left behind or hurt in some way.&#160;At the PE session many children were sat on the settee for a long time and many needed the toilet which took a member of staff away from the group. Consideration of space and safety of the children should be a priority within activities. Was the space used for the PE activity suitable for what the children were being asked to do.?&#160;

Most children appear confident within the outdoor area and I saw many examples of children leading their own learning while supporting their peers. Children from different rooms mixed well within this area and staff showed an awareness of where they needed to be and who required individual support. 

Outdoor play is an important part of the nursery life. As well as encompassing the aspects of health and wellbeing through exercise and fresh air the setting believe that all areas of the curriculum can be promoted through the outdoor area. Access to outdoors is freely available from the indoor area and most children move confidently between the two. Staff knowledge and understanding of the learning opportunities open to children is developing and effectively supported by room leads and management.

A sister setting for Kingswellies , Queenswellies' is being planned and parents and children are being kept up to date with developments. Views and opinions of stakeholders are requested and considered. Staff for the new setting are spending time within Kingswellies to support their knowledge and understanding of the ethos of the setting and its policies and procedures. This builds confidence in the new and the existing staff as learning discussions take place.

&#160;As previously spaces within the room are&#160; readily accessible to children. Practitioners need to support children to respect&#160; resources by modelling good practice and giving children the appropriate time to tidy away properly. A discussion around what the expectations of tidying are within the setting. I.e. toys lying on floor and children walking over them and drawings on units do not promote respect for property.&#160; Paint on chairs used for lunch does not promote good infection prevention and control practice&#160;

Responsive and initiated&#160; planning continues to support the activities offered within the setting. Practitioners could further this by linking the planning to numbered pages within the floor books which record the learning.. Learning recorded within the floor books can also be linked to children's online observations. Developments within contexts i.e garden developments or extension of learning within role play could also be recorded within floor books as children's voice will allow practitioners to make appropriate and relevant improvements.&#160; Learning walls clearly show the activities and experiences within the setting. Practitioners and management should ensure these document the actual learning being achieved within these experiences. Senior management and room leads should continue to monitor the levels of child led and adult led learning to ensure children's interests and choice are being suitably supported

Settings current area's for development 3 :-

<ul><li>Staff engagement with Self -Evaluation</li><li>Look inwards and outwards to share practice</li></ul>

Developments to date: Staff communication is evident within the rooms and staff are aware of their area of responsibility . Self-evaluation is identified as being central to continuous improvement. Practitioners are reflecting on what they are doing so they can get to know what they do well and identify what they need to do better. Sharing practice between rooms during staff swaps and visiting other settings is supporting management and staff to identify what is working well and where improvements can be made. Collegiate meetings allow discussions on best practice and underpin a shared vision moving forward.

Impact and evidence: Confidence of staff to identify good effective practice within themselves and their peers is developing and strengthening the foundations of a strong team across the setting.

Throughout the setting, there are displays which focus on the learning outcomes and the skills being developed by the children in their play.  Children's ideas are incorporated with a focus on Literacy , Numeracy and Health and Wellbeing. Curriculum areas and Well being indicators are evident within many information areas and shared with families. 

As part of becoming a Rights Respecting Nursery , Child led groups are practised. Eco School, Garden committee, Christmas Committee to name a few. Children are invited to register for groups. Real life meaningful experiences are supported by nursery staff. Visits to local shops for snack or Dobbies to buy fish allow children to experience planning a journey and using money.  Organising charity events and celebration events such as graduation allow the children to plan and be part of a group supporting others.  Children's ideas and learning are at the forefront of all activities. 

Settings current area's for development 2 :-

<ul><li>Support Floor Book training </li></ul>

Floor books can be seen at many areas with in the setting. Child's voice within these are evident and some children can talk about what they have been doing and what the outcome was. 

Developments to date: All staff have had access to Floor Book training , talking thinking boxes. Discussions take place at meetings and management feel the staff understanding is improving. More staff are confident using this form of planning for children's learning and can understand how positive outcomes for children are supported.

Impact and evidence: Floor Book planning is enhancing the confidence of staff to deliver effective learning and development for the children.

Quality Indicator 3.1 : Quality Assurance will continue as high profile. Involve staff in all aspects of self-evaluation. Take a closer look at appropriate Quality Indicators from A Quality Framework for Daycare of Children, Childminding and School Aged Children and identify priorities for improvement by staff and stakeholders through broad brush audit and ongoing consultation

 Increased opportunities for consultation with children. Ongoing focus on weekly reflection time with key workers. Further develop the use of child-led improvement groups e.g.. Eco group, outside play group, kindness group, Enterprise groups, Food Matters, Xmas group, Graduation group, celebration group, fundraising group, charity group, risk monitors, Buddies, Playground group. Focus on leadership opportunities for all children. 

Further engage with self-evaluation tools built in to Realising the Ambition: Being Me. Use and discuss the Case Studies as to how we should respond as best practice practitioners within Wellies Nurseries

&nbsp;Encourage increased parent/carer involvement – Ongoing development and implementation of KingsWellies Parent Council. Continue to focus on family learning opportunities inside and outside the nursery environment.

Support required: I am confident effective plans are in place to meet the improvements identified. If i can help in anyway please get in touch.

Next visit date: Next term (Sept- Dec 2023)

 Children's personal plans are kept and  focus in on the specific needs of all children, such as things that would comfort them or individual requirements throughout the day. Children's plans, their observations and ideas are all part of their learning journey which is kept within the rooms. 

Individual cloakroom areas are provided of the children. They have their own space for their belongings allowing for a development of sense of self while supporting independence and confidence. 

Activities such as Health week allow children to make connections between different areas of learning. Building a concept or a skill from different perspectives deepens understanding and makes the curriculum coherent and meaningful to learners 

The setting continues to have a warm welcoming ethos. There is a calmness about the setting where practitioner interactions are nurturing and caring.&#160; There has been a clear improvement with the layout of spaces within classes, especially the 18month to 2 years room.&#160; Clearly defined areas have supported the children to engage positively with the resources and begin to return once finished. Staff can also clearly see where support is needed.&#160; New furniture has been sourced and staff are supporting children to be respectful of resources by modelling tidying up and making sure the children know where they can mark make rather than on the furniture. Constant discussions moving forward will support children to know what is acceptable within the setting and how children keep themselves safe and healthy.&#160;

Children are regularly made aware of their learning by staff who are being supported to value planning approaches that are responsive to children's  interests and life experiences. Individual success are celebrated and shared with other children and staff

Staff knowledge and understanding is supported in many ways - i.e. Experiences and outcomes flipcharts 

Floor book planning has been rolled out throughout the setting. Effective responsive planning supports children to be leaders of their own learning. Staff are growing in confidence of using this planning and are aware of how this links with the curriculum for excellence. 

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The environment has been carefully laid out to ensure that children have a wide variety of different play areas available to them to stimulate a range of different learning opportunities. Cosy spaces are available as well as areas for use of  loose parts and natural, open ended resources. Children are confident in choosing and using  the resources available to them and transporting them to further develop their play. 

Children are encouraged to lead their own learning and support others. Their opinions and suggestions are respected and valued. Successes are celebrated and shared.

Personal achievements and milestones of development reached are recorded within Life skill awards which support the 4 capacities of CfE

Quality Assurance Journey Ebook

ELC Manager: Laura Barry Depute Manager : Caroline Reid Locality Lead Officer: Alison Stewart

With the new setting opening a management reshuffle has been planned. The manager from Kingswellies will now become the area manager overseeing both settings. The depute manager will now become the manager and an experience room lead will move into the depute managers role. This allows familiar and experienced leadership to continue to support strong foundations across both settings. This shared understanding and sharing of values and vision will underpin a positive impact on children and families. 

Most spaces within the setting support almost all children to feel safe and happy. The children move confidently throughout the indoor rooms and free flow between spaces and activities and on to the outdoor area. Children who have just transitioned into these rooms have very quickly picked up the routines and readily interact with the spaces available.&#160; The setting have been pro active in supporting the self esteem and confidence of the children by having two sittings for lunch. One group of children engage in singing , dancing or PE while they other have lunch and then swap over. This has been a positive move for the lunchtime experience. Less children ensures a calmer quieter experience where practitioners can engage in conversations which support language development. It is good to see the lunchtime routine being seen as a social event rather than a task that has to be achieved.

There is a real understanding of the importance of family engagement. The setting has an open door policy and encourages the involvement of families within most areas of the nursery. The setting recognises the parents as the main educator and values a parents or carers observations. Evaluation forms are distributed and ideas and opinions valued.  There are many events which families are invited to get involved with and share their child's nursery experience. 

Parents and families are welcome into  the setting at drop off and pick up time. This supports building strong relationships. Many events allow families to be active participants. Grandparents day recently was well attended and enjoyed by all. 

Home school links are evident within the setting. Lending Library and Maths and Literacy bags are available to share at home and allow families to share and support their child's learning and development while becoming more familiar of how children learn and develop. 

<ul><li>Support knowledge and understanding of staff within new teams </li><li>Provide enhanced Literacy and Numeracy opportunities within areas indoors and out</li><li>.Refresh some areas within spaces indoors and out.</li><li>Look at routines which further consider child autonomy and development </li></ul>

<ul><li>Support staff's knowledge and understanding of national documents </li></ul>

Developments to date: From discussions with senior management it is clear that steps have been taken to further develop staff understanding of pedagogy and best practice. Regular staff meetings take place where parts of national documents are a focus. Practitioners are asked to link their practice to these documents and identify how this improves outcomes for children. These meetings and on floor discussions are contributing to a growing confidence of many staff to identify learning while it happens and identify the correct next steps.

Impact and evidence: Management feel that although practitioners are a different points in their experience. Good foundations are in place for moving forward and for continuous improvement of practice.

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Supporting Staff to deliver high quality practice ....

Staff are well supported within the setting , Management teams have regular meetings and are aware of the training needs of their staff. They facilitate time for shared learning and allow staff to work in different rooms to build relationships across the setting. Distributive leadership is evident with room leads taking responsibility for some areas and practitioners being confident to discuss improvements identified. 

Regular monitoring of practice takes place and staff are encouraged to be reflective practitioners. Sharing practice and discussing strategies builds confidence in pedagogy and supports knowledge and understanding. Regular observation tracking facilitates effective observations which identify learning and appropriate next steps for the individual child. Staff are supported with a growing confidence to be able to identify learning within their practice and from there provide resources, time or interactions that will support further learning and development. 

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