Mulberry Garden

Inspection of Mulberry Garden Mulberry House, High Street, Bathampton, BATH BA2 6SY

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

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

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The provision is inadequate

Children's health, safety and well-being are not effectively supported at all times. Some staff are not familiar with the procedures for safeguarding children. For example, when to refer concerns about a child's welfare. In addition, the heating in the nursery is broken and in the manager's absence, staff were too slow to respond to this issue. Consequently, children were cared for in unacceptable temperatures at a time when the country was experiencing extremely cold weather. The playroom and the sleep rooms are cold, and this makes it particularly uncomfortable for babies and young children, as they move less than older children and spend more time on the floor. Nevertheless, children have secure relationships with the staff. Babies and toddlers approach staff for cuddles and reassurance. Older children like to sit with staff and listen to a story or sing familiar songs.

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The provision is inadequate

Children's behaviour is good. They share, take turns and are polite and well mannered. They are motivated in their learning but, on occasions, weaknesses in teaching mean that children lose interest. For example, older children show interest in a mathematics activity of counting and matching bears. However, because staff do not provide sufficient challenge, or know how to engage all of the children, some wander off and miss the opportunity to learn new skills.

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The provision is inadequate

Staff build positive relationships with parents. They use an online system and daily discussions to keep parents informed of their child's progress. Parents value the flexibility the nursery offers.

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need to do better?

n Management have not implemented an effective supervision system to ensure staff have the skills and knowledge they need to teach children well. While they have completed some observations of staff practice, they have not used the information gained to support staff in improving the consistency of their interactions with children to ensure they learn well. n The majority of staff have completed core training, such as first aid, child protection, food hygiene and fire safety. Management provide staff with an induction to help them develop skills and knowledge for their role. However, management do not recognise when staff need support to help children with their communication and language skills. In addition, some staff do not know when to report a safeguarding concern to the designated safeguarding lead to make sure children's welfare is effectively supported. n Staff in charge of the nursery in the manager's absence have not acted to fix the

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need to do better?

problems with the heating or sort an alternative solution. Children are cared for in a cold environment, where their individual needs are not met. For example, the babies sleep in a room too cold for them to sleep safely. In addition, staff do

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need to do better?

7 December 2022 not make sure there are sufficient resources to support children's personal care and hygiene. For example, children have to wait for extended periods to use a hand dryer and they choose not to wait. They return to play with wet and cold hands. Staff report they do not have paper towels for drying their hands after washing them because they have run out. This does not support children's independence in their personal care. n Staff have planned a broad curriculum. However, some staff interact well with children on a one-to-one basis, but when working with groups of children, staff struggle to engage the children. Children stop listening and lose interest. Staff do not organise the activities well and some children do not receive the support they need. For example, children who need help with their communication and language sit facing away from staff and, therefore, cannot see staff using signs

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need to do better?

and facial expressions so cannot effectively join in. n Children enjoy singing familiar songs that they are practising for their Nativity play. However, some of the staff working with the children do not know the words. They choose to sing other songs and children become confused about what they need to sing. n Babies enjoy exploring different sensory activities. Staff talk with the children as they play. In general, staff know the children well. Key persons working with the younger children record what they want children to learn next on boards in the playroom. This helps other staff know what children need to do. However, this is not consistent across all age groups. Staff working with the older children do not make sure they share what children need to learn next. This results in some staff not knowing how to help children progress in their learning. n Staff build appropriate relationships with parents. They provide parents with

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need to do better?

some ideas to help them support their children's learning at home. Parents report that their children are learning to be kind and respectful.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff know how to identify possible concerns about a child's welfare. The deputy safeguarding lead is clear on the procedures to follow should there be a concern about a child's welfare. However, some staff are not and this means that they may not pass on important information about a child's welfare. Staff complete some risk assessments. For example, on the day of the inspection, they put salt down in the outside area to prevent children from slipping. However, they had failed to address the concerns with no heating and the room temperatures being too cold. There are suitable procedures in place to recruit and vet staff.

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Due date

ensure children are cared for in an appropriate environment that supports their health, safety and well-being, particularly in relation to the temperature of the play and sleep rooms 08/12/2022

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Due date

ensure that all staff are familiar with the safeguarding policies and procedures with particular regard to raising concerns about a child's welfare 08/12/2022

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Due date

support staff to help all children make good progress, particularly with their communication and language development 04/01/2023

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Due date

ensure there are sufficient suitable resources to allow children to be independent in their personal care. 08/12/2022

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2683093 Local authority Bath and North East Somerset Council Inspection number 10266350 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 49 Number of children on roll 36 Name of registered person Purnell, Lucy

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reference number

Telephone number 07961008561 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Mulberry Garden registered in 2022. The privately owned nursery is situated in Bathampton, Bath and North East Somerset. It is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 6pm all year round. The owner employs 16 staff, of whom the majority hold early years qualifications from level 2 to level 5.

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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 provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The inspector completed a learning walk with the deputy manager and talked about the curriculum and how this supports children's individual learning needs. n The deputy manager and the inspector completed a joint observation and talked about the quality of the implementation of the curriculum. n The inspector spoke to parents who shared their views. n The inspector spoke to staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection. n The deputy manager and the inspector completed a leadership and management meeting and reviewed documentation, such as staff files. n This is the first inspection since the new owner took over from an existing provider.

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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

7 December 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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