Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Patch 109 New Church Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 4BD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/11/2013 19/04/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children have excellent opportunities to be independent, active learners, because staff offer them an exemplary learning environment.  Children become excellent problem-solvers and creative thinkers because staff are highly skilled at using thought-provoking questions and giving children the time they need to respond.  Leaders and managers provide inspirational ideas for improvement and therefore, support staff very effectively in their professional development.  Managers use the rigorous monitoring techniques to analyse the effectiveness of the provision and identify exact areas for improvement. As a result, they promote all children's learning extremely well.  Children have very mature social and emotional skills and manage their own behaviour extremely well. This is because staff teach them in highly effective ways.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed babies and children at play indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector met with the manger and owner to discuss management and monitoring.  The inspector and manager carried out a joint observation.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation.

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Information about the setting

Pumpkin Patch Day Nursery was registered in 2003 and is located in a large detached house in the New Church Road area of Brighton and Hove. Children use all parts of the house and an enclosed rear garden is available for outdoor play and learning. The setting is open weekdays from 8 am to 6 pm and is one of two day care settings under the same ownership, in the Brighton and Hove area. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 102 children on roll, and the setting receives nursery education funding for children aged two, three and four years. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who learn English as an additional language. There is a staff team of 15, 11 of whom have appropriate early years qualifications, with four staff members currently training to degree level.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 enhance children's independence in practical activities such as supporting them to prepare and serve food at snack time.

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who attend

Staff have an excellent understanding of how to meet children's learning and development needs. They plan a full range of rich and interesting activities that engage children continually in challenging play. This means that child-initiated play is of exceptionally high quality and staff are highly effective at extending and developing children's learning through play. As a result, children make outstanding progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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who attend

Staff have exceptional teaching skills. All children experience a language-rich environment, which builds their communication skills extremely well. Staff talk with children aged under two years constantly, sustaining eye contact and giving them lots of time to think and respond. These children, benefit from the excellent use of resources to prompt conversations, which increases their vocabulary very rapidly. For example, in acting out a story with children, staff emphasise positional language such as 'over' and 'through', as well as inviting children to describe what mud feels like. Pre-school aged children develop story lines in their role play, inventing a trip to the beach, which consolidates vocabulary and experiences on recent trips and holidays. All staff use sign language to supplement their speech and carry a visual timetable with them so that they can consistently work with any child who may be shy or less able. They also use props such as puppets to help

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who attend

children choose songs, such as an animal glove puppet. This helps children to join in whatever their skills. All children have exceptional opportunities to develop their skills in mathematics and problem solving. Children measure, count and identify numbers as a regular part of their play because staff are highly skilled at providing resources, which facilitate such play. For example, children take the tape measures to the outdoor area and measure the blocks and towers they have built. Staff also use open questions very skilfully to prompt children to think about how they might achieve something. For example, staff say 'do you have enough? Do you think you need more? How many more?' giving children time to consider and estimate.

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who attend

Staff gather a great deal of detail when children start at the nursery and work closely with parents to establish children's starting points. Staff make frequent, highly skilled observations of children's achievements and plan timely activities to target children's next steps. These are recorded in individual online diaries, which the parents also have personal access to at home or in the nursery. This enables staff and parents to consistently share current information, which creates exceptional partnership working to promote children's learning. Staff make highly effective plans and use white boards in each room to explain the precise purpose of the activity and the children it is aimed at. This enables all staff to skilfully facilitate children's play and teaching is at a consistently high standard. As a result, children make outstanding progress given their starting points and capabilities. Staff make regular summary reviews, which give clear details on the

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who attend

child's achievements in each area of learning. They use the local authority's established formats for the progress check at age two, and for the school transition form, which promotes consistency.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Staff are highly effective key persons for children and know their individual personalities very well. Staff work closely with parents to establish children's routines, particularly with babies. This means that staff can follow the child's home routine as much as possible; helping them to feel settled and secure. Parents and staff work flexibly to settle the family into the nursery, and when children change rooms, parents meet the new key person. Staff are very attentive and tailor each transfer as much as possible to support the child's confidence in moving. Staff have created exemplary learning environments in which children have the high quality resources and plenty of time to set their own challenges. Staff provide a wide range of 'loose parts' such as blocks and household items that children can bring together creatively. For example, they use small soft play cushions to create a train on which to focus their role play. Children use the outdoor area for activities

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

across the curriculum and whether indoors or out, they have ample time to explore, investigate and create. This enables children of all learning styles to be independent, active learners.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children benefit from a wide range of experiences that help them to learn about healthy lifestyles. They eat freshly prepared meals and snacks that are well-balanced nutritionally. Staff offer children excellent support to learn personal care skills as they serve themselves, feed themselves and pour their own drinks at lunch time. Children have slightly less opportunity at snack time to be independent as food arrives pre-cut. Children enjoy playing with real food items such as fresh broccoli in the role play areas. They quickly learn to take care of their personal hygiene needs. Staff have thoughtfully placed low mirrors in each room so that children can see to wipe off any paint or food they may have on their faces. Children adopt excellent hygiene habits, washing their hands and putting dirty tissues straight in the bin. This helps to minimise cross-infection. Staff foster children's physical development is extremely well. Children can negotiate a wide range of

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

physical play equipment and enjoy fine-tuning their balancing skills on the ramp, for example. They are careful of their own safety as staff give them the skills to manage risk. For example, children building a tower from loose blocks give themselves plenty of room when they knock it down. In this way, children learn to take care of themselves and others. Staff support children's small muscle development equally well. For example, children enjoy mark-making activities with a range of resources in every aspect of play. Therefore, they soon become competent and confident writers.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children's behaviour is exemplary. They are very clear about what staff expect of them and are calmly assertive about turn taking and cooperating in play. For example, children use a sand-timer to time their turns on the computer and work happily together as a result. Staff are exceptionally skilled at giving children the skills to communicate and negotiate about what they want. This helps children who are upset to explain why, and seek solutions, as well as helping children to know when others are upset and take responsibility for their actions. Staff also respond extremely quickly to any incidents. For example, on noticing that a child nearly bit another child, they immediately chose a story book for group time that started a discussion about teeth. The children talked about eating food, smiling and other uses for teeth, while staff reinforced the message that we do not bite our friends. This high degree of responsiveness helps children to develop

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

mature behaviour skills. Their confidence and maturity means they have exceptional skills for their move to school.

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provision

Leaders and managers have an excellent understanding of how to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements. The whole staff team work together to look at the detail and practical implications of the comprehensive safeguarding policy. As a result, staff know the detail of how to report any concerns they may have about the welfare of a child. Staff undergo a rigorous recruitment process and are checked as to their suitability to work with children. Staff who are awaiting checks do not have unsupervised contact with children. Staff deployment is highly effective as staff are consistently aware of children's whereabouts and communicate well to meet children's needs. Staff maintain children's records and other documentation in a rigorous and thorough manner, which underpins children's well-being. The manager carries out regular supervisions and appraisals, which provide staff with excellent support to develop their professional skills and identify their

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provision

training needs. Staff say that they find the process supportive and challenging. Inspirational goals such as establishing a forest school, give staff the creative drive and confidence to tackle new challenges for the benefit of the children. Managers use rigorous monitoring techniques to maintain their high standards. The manager can analyse the data from tracking documents to identify achievement gaps and address them. For example, when a group of very active learners were not making the expected progress in counting and calculating, they created outdoor physical activities, which met their developmental needs. The nursery staff are also very skilled at identifying children who are gifted and talented, and devise activities, which stretch and challenge them further. This means that action plans are responsiveness to the immediate needs of children, as well as a providing systematic, ambitious drive for the future.

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provision

Parents have excellent opportunities to work in partnership with the nursery. They have daily contact with the child's key person and can use the online diaries to share information at their own pace. Parents greatly value the flexible opportunities to settle children in using their own judgement as to how confident the child is to separate from them. Parents contribute to the manager's evaluation of the nursery by sharing their opinions in questionnaires and in emails. Parents speak very highly of the staff, and the quality of engagement they can see the children enjoy. With parents consent, other day carers, such as childminders, can add to the interactive record, so all parties are working together coherently. The nursery has built excellent relationships with other professionals so that children with additional needs benefit from timely and focused support. For example, staff learn all about any medical and learning disabilities before the child starts

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provision

so that they can meet their needs from the beginning. Staff also work closely with translators to assess children's language development in all languages spoken at home. This provides staff with an excellent, rounded picture of the child's achievements. The staff have highly effective relationships with local schools to support children when they move on. Schools comment on the children's very strong skills, both emotional and educational.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement action. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted 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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Setting details

Unique reference number EY234878 Local authority Brighton & Hove Inspection number 920917 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 45 Number of children on roll 102 Name of provider Anita Dawn O'Hara Date of previous inspection 19/04/2011 Telephone number 01273 227000

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. 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 Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, 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,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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