Little Earthworms

Little Earthworms 387 Ditchling Road, Brighton, BN1 6NF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 9 October 2015 17 June 2010

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This inspection: Good 2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2

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This provision is good

 Staff understand that children learn in different ways and they are very effective at enabling different age groups to mix and play together. This helps to give older children a sense of responsibility and teaches younger children to be ambitious in their play.  Staff plan interesting activities that they know will excite and motivate children. All children show great enthusiasm for their learning and are keen to participate with their friends.  Children benefit from warm relationships with the staff that care for them. This helps them to feel relaxed, happy and thoroughly enjoy their time at nursery.  Staff work very well in partnership with parents. They discuss children's progress frequently and parents say that they feel very involved in their child's learning and development. Staff plan with parents how to support their child in nursery. Children benefit from this shared approach to helping them succeed.

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This provision is good

 Managers are passionate about the nursery and are keen to make it the best it can be. Systems for self-evaluation are thorough and recent improvements to the outside play areas have greatly enhanced the learning environment for children.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Not all staff consistently recognise how much children already know or can do. On occasion, some activities are not challenging enough and staff do not always extend children's knowledge by teaching them new facts or skills.  Not all staff are confident to implement the nursery behaviour procedures or safe play rules. This means that children are not always clear about what staff expectations are.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 improve staff understanding of what children can already do and strengthen their skills in asking questions that further challenge and extend children's knowledge  strengthen staff's confidence in implementing agreed behaviour management and safe play strategies to ensure consistent practice.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in all play areas, both indoors and outdoors.  The inspector spoke with the manager and the registered provider throughout the inspection to discuss their roles and responsibilities.  The inspector carried out a joint observation of practice with the manager in the garden.  The inspector sampled a range of documents including staff records, nursery policies, nursery development plans and children's learning and development records.  The inspector spoke to all staff members about how they protect children and keep them safe.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

Managers are good role models. They work alongside staff, encouraging and coaching them to improve. They recognise good practice and also understand when practice needs to be better. Managers plan effective training to help staff develop their skills. For example, following the development of the nursery garden, staff received training in how to deliver an exciting outdoors experience for children. This training enhanced children's knowledge and understanding of the natural world around them. Safeguarding is effective. Staff have appropriate safeguarding and first aid training, and managers use robust systems to ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children. Managers monitor children's progress both formally and informally. They identify any potential gaps in learning and put measures in place to address any concerns.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Children use a wide range of resources and staff help them make choices about how, what and where they want to play. This contributes to children developing an enthusiasm for learning. The youngest children enjoy exploring the sensory garden and show interest in the reflections they see in glitter balls and metal pans. These experiences excite them and encourage them to explore further. All children delight in mud play, sieving soil between pans. Children learn to work in teams showing consideration for their friends. For example, older and younger children play together pouring water down pipes. The older children refill watering cans independently so that games can continue uninterrupted. Children practise their mathematics and literacy skills as they count food into baskets and write shopping lists for their games. Overall, staff make good use of their assessments of children's progress to plan for their individual learning needs.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

All staff work well together and set a good example for children to follow. They encourage children to be polite, sociable, considerate and respectful of other people. Children behave well and staff are calm and gentle. This helps to provide a busy and purposeful atmosphere. Staff teach children how to keep themselves healthy. For example, they remind them about the importance of washing their hands following garden play and they encourage them to choose the healthy fruit when they are playing an imaginative shopping game. Children are confident and manage small tasks independently. This helps prepare them for moving on to school.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children make good progress based on their starting points. Older children are well prepared for school. All children learn to communicate effectively, they show good levels of independence and they develop strong social skills.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY402775 Local authority Brighton & Hove Inspection number 831198 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 29 Number of children on roll 36 Name of provider Little Earth Worms Limited Date of previous inspection 17 June 2010 Telephone number 01273 243182

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Setting details

Little Earthworms opened and registered in 2010. It operates from a single storey house in Brighton. Core opening hours are from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, for 51 weeks of the year. Opening hours can be extended from 7.30am until 6.30pm by special arrangement. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery employs five members of staff. Of these, one member of staff has an early years qualification at level 4, two staff have qualifications at level 3 and one member of staff has a qualification at level 2.

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Setting details

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

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

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Setting details

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Setting details

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Setting details

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