Little Palms

Inspection of Little Palms 32 Market Street, Torquay TQ1 3AQ

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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The provision is good

Children and families receive a warm welcome at this friendly nursery. Children thrive in the carefully planned environment. They are immediately engrossed in the wide range of exciting activities on offer. Staff are very kind and attentive. Children show that they feel safe and secure. They have good social skills and readily involve adults and other children in their play. Children are very well behaved and have a clear understanding of what staff expect from them. Children share, take turns and play happily together.

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The provision is good

Staff focus effectively on developing children's communication and mathematical skills. Staff model language and provide good support to build children's vocabulary. Staff skilfully ask questions to test out children's knowledge. They encourage children to explore their own ideas and to think about what could happen next. Children confidently count and recognise numbers. There are many opportunities to sort, match and compare shapes and sizes.

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The provision is good

Children develop very good levels of independence and staff help them to build confidence to manage everyday tasks for themselves. Children receive lots of praise and encouragement, which helps them to build good levels of self-esteem. Staff know children well. Staff have regular meetings to reflect on each child's individual stage of development and their emerging interests. Staff are committed to ensuring all children enjoy their time at the nursery and continually make good progress.

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need to do better?

n Managers and staff have worked hard to successfully address the weaknesses identified at the previous inspection. This has helped to greatly improve the quality of the provision. Managers and staff receive very good support from the senior leadership team. The dedicated manager and the enthusiastic staff team work very well together. There is a strong team ethos to provide the very best for children and families. n Partnerships with parents and carers are strong. They are very complimentary about the quality of care and the progress children make. Children can take home special activity bags containing exciting resources and simple instructions. These successfully encourage parents and carers to be involved in their children's learning. Staff make effective use of an online app, which allows them to share photographs and instant messages with parents and carers. n Staff work closely with other agencies involved in children's care and

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need to do better?

development to successfully implement targeted plans to support children's individual needs. Staff make careful adjustments to activities and methods of communication. As a result, children, including those with special educational

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need to do better?

23 January 2020 needs and/or disabilities and children for whom English is an additional language, can participate effectively. All children make good progress. n Staff use their observations of what children know, understand and can do to plan for their individual needs and interests. The manager closely monitors children's progress and development. She provides good support to improve staff understanding of the purpose of accurate assessment. There are regular meetings to discuss how best to use the high-quality resources in exciting and challenging ways to increase children's curiosity and engagement. n Children enjoy using the outdoor play area. For example, they like to dance, chase bubbles blown by staff and draw with chalks. They learn how to successfully grow vegetables and flowers. However, the outdoor curriculum does not fully promote children's progress in all areas of learning. n Staff promote children's literacy skills well. Children enjoy choosing books to look

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need to do better?

at with their friends. Staff regularly read stories and children listen attentively. Staff skilfully use information books to extend children's knowledge and understanding of the natural world. For example, children look at pictures to compare them with the spider found outside. n Children learn about good hygiene routines and healthy food choices. They know why they must wash their hands before eating and carefully wash up their cup and bowl when finished. The experienced, friendly cook provides a range of nutritious midday meals and afternoon snacks. Children use serving spoons with confidence. They skilfully use knives to spread different toppings on their bread. Parents receive excellent helpful tips for putting together a healthy and balanced lunchbox.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff regularly complete training. They are aware of the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of harm. Staff know the steps to take if they are concerned about a child's welfare or a colleague's conduct. The manager regularly questions the staff to ensure their knowledge is up to date. Robust recruitment procedures are followed to ensure staff are suitable. New staff follow an induction process that supports them in understanding their roles and responsibilities. Daily risk assessments are undertaken to ensure the nursery remains a safe place in which children can play and learn.

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should:

n continue to develop the outdoor curriculum to ensure children's progress is promoted in all areas of learning.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY490781 Local authority Torbay Inspection number 10094911 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Full day care Age range of children 2 to 4 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 39 Name of registered person Pre-School Learning Alliance

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reference number

Telephone number 01803 290471 Date of previous inspection 1 February 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Little Palms nursery registered in 2015. It operates in the town of Torquay, in Torbay. The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 4.30pm for 51 weeks of the year. There are five members of staff employed to work directly with children, all of whom hold appropriate qualifications to at least level 3. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education to children aged two, three and four years.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector completed a learning walk with the manager to observe all areas of the nursery in order to understand how the early years provision and the curriculum are organised. n A joint observation was carried out by the inspector and the manager. They discussed the quality of teaching and the impact this has on children's learning. n The inspector held discussions with staff at appropriate times during the inspection. n Meetings were held with the manager and a range of documentation was sampled. n The inspector observed the interactions between staff and children. n The inspector spoke to parents on the day and took account of their views.

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Inspection activities

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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Inspection activities

23 January 2020 regulates and inspects to 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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