Kids Planet Hartburn

Kids Planet Hartburn
Unique reference number (URN): 2838580
Address: 68 Darlington Road, Hartburn, Stockton, TS18 5ER
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 02/05/2025
Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR
Registered person: Kids Planet Day Nurseries Limited
Inspection report: 8 May 2026
Exceptional
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
Urgent improvement
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.
How we evaluate safeguarding
When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:
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.

Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
All children make progress across every area of their learning, and they show strengths in
their communication and language skills from an early age. Babies watch staff and listen
carefully to songs and rhymes, which are then extended by staff who work with toddlers and
young children. Staff provide children and families with books that they can take home to
develop a love of stories and promote early literacy skills. Children with special educational
needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from focused support and make appropriate
progress in relation to their individual targets and goals.
Typically, children are well prepared for the next stages in their learning, including school.
Staff take care and time to prepare children and families as they progress through the
nursery from babies to pre-school. Children benefit from smooth transitions, and staff share
information about every child before they move on. Staff carefully consider how they can
tackle barriers to learning and ensure children are generally provided with a wide range of
experiences before they start school, including visits into the local community.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Leaders and staff promote kindness and respect throughout the nursery. They are very good
role models and teach children about differences and diversity. For instance, children took
part in a bake sale and made contributions to the local community food bank. Staff who work
with older children ensure they walk to school to mirror routines they have with their families
and enable them to experience their own community. Generally, children are regular
attenders and staff encourage this to help them to prepare to start school.
Staff have high expectations of children and typically offer praise for their efforts and
achievements. Children's behaviour is pleasant and they demonstrate a positive attitude to
their learning. They are polite, well-mannered and have high levels of self-esteem. Overall,
staff encourage children to keep trying when they feel challenged and help them to build
resilience, although this is not consistent during outdoor learning.
Children benefit from established routines that help them to feel safe and settled. Staff who
work with babies and young children ensure they follow routines from home to work in
partnership with parents. Older children begin to follow more structured routines in
preparation for starting school. For example, staff ask them to help set the table and children
sit in the dining area together as they would in the school hall.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
All children show that they feel safe and secure in the nursery. They develop positive,
trusting relationships with their key person. Generally, children who are newer to the nursery
settle in quickly and staff are responsive to their needs. For instance, staff cuddle babies
close to them as this is how they prefer to fall asleep. Staff ensure that they share detailed
information with children's new key person when it is time to move up to the next room in the

nursery. Parents are invited in to meet their child's new key person, and staff make time to
answer any questions they may have. This promotes children's emotional wellbeing and
builds positive relationships with families.
Typically, staff follow procedures established by leaders that promote children's welfare,
health and self-care. For instance, children are counted back in from the garden space and
line up to enable staff to do this effectively. There are clear risk assessment processes in
place to help staff maintain safety in areas used by children, and there are appropriate
individual risk assessments for children with specific dietary needs and requirements.
Children thoroughly enjoy the meals provided. They are balanced, healthy and nutritious.
However, on several occasions, staff did not remind children to wash their hands before
meals and snack times, including when older children handle cutlery for the whole group.
This does not consistently support them to build healthy habits for the future. Leaders are in
the process of developing the procedures and staff's practice to promote oral hygiene, which
young children are already showing interest in as they explore books about this in the
nursery.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders and staff provide children with a broad, balanced curriculum. They focus on building
on children's existing skills and carefully sequence learning experiences. This helps children
to build solid foundations for future learning. Staff are clear on children's next steps in
learning and adapt their teaching indoors to meet children's needs. This is done particularly
well for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), as staff adapt
experiences to ensure full participation and access. Staff's interactions are not consistently
high quality when children are outdoors, despite them showing high levels of interest in
activities, and some staff maintain a supervisory role. This means opportunities to extend
their learning are missed and children's excitement to learn is not always nurtured.
The curriculum that staff provide to promote children's personal, social and emotional
development is a strength. Staff support babies to develop positive relationships with them
and help them to feel safe from the start. Young children start to play together, and staff
teach them about being kind and gentle. Older children are supported to join in with larger
groups and build confidence to share their skills in story time and circle time.
Children benefit from being in a language-rich environment, and this extends into
mathematical development. Staff show skill in using mathematical language throughout
children's experiences and draw them into discussions about 'how many', 'one more' and
'show me how many'. Young children demonstrate impressive knowledge for their age as
they show the correct number of acorns when asked. Older children learn about numerals
and play games that involve time language.
Inclusion Expected standard
Leaders and staff strive to support every child who attends and meet their individual care
and learning needs. Staff use regular assessments to identify areas where children need
further support and use strategies to help minimise gaps in their learning. For example, staff
use screening assessments and a specific language development programme to support
children. They show progress in this area when reassessed and no longer require any

referrals to other professionals, such as speech and language therapy. Extra funding is used
to benefit children for whom it is intended. Leaders and staff are developing this further to
help reduce barriers to learning, such as the introduction of physical development sessions.
Typically, leaders ensure that all staff know and understand how to support children. There
is a positive ethos around inclusion, and staff talk about how this is everyone's responsibility.
Staff use a range of targeted plans and interventions, which are shared between parents
and other settings that children attend. They promote partnership working, which creates
continuity and consistency for children. This has a positive impact on their progress.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
The nursery has recently changed ownership. Leaders prioritise staff's wellbeing and
provide positive levels of support. Staff say they have been supported through this process
and receive regular one-to-one meetings with leaders and managers. Regional and area
managers are regularly in the nursery to review and support new leaders. They have clear
oversight of the curriculum and provide honest and accurate evaluation of the provision,
identifying their priorities for improvement. For instance, they are enhancing the garden area
for babies so it better promotes their physical development.
Leaders support staff who have extra roles within the nursery and ensure they have time out
of the rooms to complete any tasks. This ensures their workload is appropriate and helps
them to fulfil their role effectively. Staff receive training that supports them to meet children's
individual needs. For instance, staff who work with children with special educational needs
and/or disabilities (SEND) are trained to use specialist equipment for feeding. This helps
staff to meet their care needs. Leaders are embedding the programme of professional
development with staff to focus on teaching and the curriculum in specific rooms and areas
of practice, to maintain high-quality learning experiences for children.
Leaders and staff establish and maintain effective partnerships with others. They have links
with other professionals who work with children and value the relationships they have with
families. Newer leaders and staff work hard to ensure parents know who they are and make
every attempt to get to know families who attend. This helps them to continue to identify any
barriers to learning as families needs change over time.

Compulsory Childcare Register requirements
This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Compulsory Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can
have the following outcomes:
Met
Not met
Voluntary Childcare Register requirements
This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Voluntary Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can
have the following outcomes:
Met
Not met
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children show enjoyment in their learning and are enthusiastic to participate in experiences
provided by staff. Staff know children's likes, dislikes and interests. This helps them to
carefully prepare indoor and outdoor environments that ignite children's curiosity. Babies
take part in sensory activities and staff model animal names and sounds as they explore.
Staff continue to extend young children's sensory experiences as they explore dough and
learn new key words. Older children develop the skills they need to start school. They
develop effective social skills and are independent learners.

Inspector:
Michelle Lorains
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2838580
Address:
68 Darlington Road
Hartburn
Children with gaps in their learning and those with special educational needs and/or
disabilities are provided with extra support to enable them to participate in experiences.
They make positive progress in relation to their starting points. Leaders and staff are aware
of potential barriers to children's learning and ensure those who attend the nursery full time
have access to a wide range of experiences. For example, they go into the local community
to visit the parks and are planning to introduce sports coaching sessions.
All children show they feel safe, secure and settled in the nursery. They have close
relationships with their key person and other members of staff. Staff gather information from
parents and use this to meet their care needs effectively. Parents speak positively about the
nursery and staff team. They say that the communication is very effective and the new team
has been introduced to them. They describe staff as very kind, caring and child-centred.
Next steps
Leaders should provide staff with further training to enhance their teaching outdoors and
help them to provide high-quality interactions consistently for all children.
Leaders should continue to develop and embed routines that help children to build solid
foundations for their physical development, health and self-care.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with parents, leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs
coordinator and the designated safeguarding lead during the 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.

Stockton
TS18 5ER
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 02/05/2025
Registered person: Kids Planet Day Nurseries Limited
Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:00 - 18:00
Local authority: Stockton-on-Tees
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 8 May 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
Total number of places
75
Our grades explained
Exceptional
Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.
Strong standard
The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of
them.
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.
Needs attention
The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary
improvements.
Urgent improvement
The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of
education and/or care.
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects
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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