Little Pickles

Inspection of Little Pickles The Old Court House, Market Street, Bodmin, Cornwall PL31 2JW

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision requires improvement

Children are welcomed warmly into an inviting and safe nursery. They form positive relationships with staff and cuddle them for reassurance when needed. Children settle quickly and feel secure and confident. For example, they immediately introduce themselves to visitors and involve them in their games. Children choose from a range of toys and resources to support aspects of their learning. Toddlers play with dolls imaginatively, showing care when they feed, clothe and rock their 'babies'. Pre-school children fill and empty containers with sand and investigate how to use different tools, such as working out how to balance the sand on a trowel. However, staff are not always clear what they want children to learn from planned activities and how to help them to build on what they already know and can do.

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The provision requires improvement

Overall, children behave well. For example, they learn to share and take turns when playing card games with their friends and offer other children the toys when they have finished playing with them. Children lose focus and become over-excited at times when the activities that staff plan do not provide appropriate challenge and stimulation. Some staff working with pre-school children are not confident to manage children's behaviour and ask their colleagues to intervene.

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need to do better?

n Leaders have recently identified some of the main areas for development, particularly in the pre-school room. They have begun to identify how to make improvements to address the weaknesses, but their action plan is new and not yet embedded. The monitoring of staff's practice and support and coaching for their professional development has not been effective to prevent weaknesses, but leaders are now working to improve this. n Overall, children make steady progress in their learning. Staff working with babies place a strong focus on developing children's communication skills. They model a broad vocabulary, such as 'scoop, cold' and 'sticky', and encourage babies to speak and put two words together. Pre-school children learn to count and recognise numbers. n Leaders know what they want children to learn but do not monitor the planning and implementation of the curriculum closely enough. They have recently

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need to do better?

identified that staff's planning does not meet all children's needs consistently. For example, staff plan activities to develop pre-school children to make marks on paper with control and coordination. However, staff do not support them to hold the pencil correctly and to draw with care. This does not help to extend children's learning successfully. n Staff assess children accurately and identify when children may need additional support. Leaders and staff work well with parents and other professionals to

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need to do better?

21 June 2022 meet the needs of children who require extra help and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. n Staff provide gentle prompts to remind children of the rules, such as not to shout and scream excitedly during their self-chosen play indoors. Leaders have provided staff with training to develop their knowledge and skills to support children's behaviour. However, some staff working in the pre-school room still do not feel able to manage children's behaviour when children become unfocused and over-excited. Instead, they ask other staff to get involved to calm and support the children. n Staff working with pre-school children are not always deployed well. On occasion, they do not organise themselves effectively to be able to meet the children's learning needs. During these times, some children wander around silently and do not receive support from staff to interact with others and engage

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need to do better?

in play and activities. n Toddlers understand the routines and feel comfortable and emotionally secure in staff's care. They talk to staff happily about which bed in the quiet area is theirs and, when tired, take themselves to bed and fall asleep. When they wake, they are greeted warmly and sensitively by staff and join in eagerly with the activities happening around them. n Staff support children to be independent in their self-care, particularly in the pre- school room. For example, they encourage children to put on their own shoes and clothes and to use the toilet. Children show pride in their abilities, confidently announcing their achievements to every member of staff in the room. n Parents speak positively about how well staff know their children and their children's love of coming to the setting. In particular, parents comment on the improvements in their children's speech and confidence since they started

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff complete training to keep their child protection knowledge up to date. They are aware of the signs that might indicate a child is at risk of harm and know the procedures to follow to share any information with other agencies. Risk assessments are effective and the premises are secure. Staff identify potential risks and ensure leaders are made aware of them, so they can successfully minimise hazards, both indoors and outside. Leaders have reviewed the organisation of the toddler play areas to make sure that staff can supervise children more closely. Recruitment and vetting procedures are robust. Leaders ensure that new staff who have not yet obtained full suitability checks are not left alone with children and do not carry out intimate care tasks.

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Due date

improve the deployment of staff in the pre-school room to ensure all children receive support and encouragement to interact with others and to engage in their play and activities 15/07/2022

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Due date

monitor the planning of the curriculum and the quality of staff's practice to ensure all children receive good support and challenge consistently to meet their individual learning needs 15/07/2022

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Due date

provide support and coaching for staff to develop their skills and confidence to manage the pre-school children's behaviour and promote their emotional well-being more effectively. 15/07/2022

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2588543 Local authority Cornwall Inspection number 10245521 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

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inspection

Total number of places 33 Number of children on roll 55 Name of registered person Coombe Valley Nursery (Callington) Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01208368008 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Little Pickles registered in 2020 and operates from Bodmin in Cornwall. It opens from 7.30am to 6pm each weekday, all year round. There are 10 members of staff employed to work with the children, including the manager, eight of whom hold relevant qualifications at level 2 or 3. The manager holds a level 5 qualification. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The inspector viewed and discussed the safety and suitability of the premises. n A manager led the inspector on a learning walk of all areas of the nursery to discuss the early years curriculum. n Children spoke with the inspector about their games during the inspection. n The inspector held discussions with staff and parents to find out about their experiences of the setting and take account of their views. n The inspector spoke with leaders about the leadership and management of the setting and sampled a range of documents.

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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

21 June 2022 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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