Tummyticklers

Inspection of Tummyticklers Everard Ellis Centre, Mill Lane, BILLINGHAM, Cleveland TS23 1HG

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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 Good

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The provision is good

Children arrive happily and eager to start their day. They are greeted by the caring, nurturing staff team, who welcome them into the nursery. Staff are quick to respond to children's needs. For instance, children who come into the nursery unsettled are quickly provided with cuddles and reassurance. This helps children to feel safe and secure. Staff provide a stimulating environment for children, indoors and outside. Children choose from a wide range of interesting activities. Older babies giggle with delight as they practise feeding the dolls porridge oats. Older children play together imaginatively, creating storylines. For example, they pretend to create a 'volcano house' and decide which dinosaurs can enter.

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The provision is good

Children behave extremely well. Staff praise children for using good manners, sharing and taking turns. This helps children to understand what behaviour is expected and promotes their confidence and self-esteem. Staff encourage children to complete tasks for themselves. For instance, toddlers wash their hands, cut up their snack and serve themselves lunch. This helps to develop their self-care skills and independence. Staff provide children with plenty of time outside in the garden. They teach them how to manage risks, such as when they climb up and down the climbing frame. This helps children to develop their large muscles, balance and coordination.

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need to do better?

n Children develop a love of books and reading. Babies sit cuddled up with staff to listen as they read their favourite stories with enthusiasm. Older children select their favourite stories and look at them independently. Furthermore, staff have developed a lending library, to encourage parents to share books at home. This helps to develop children's early literacy skills. n Staff support children's communication and language skills well. Toddlers enjoy singing familiar songs and rhymes, and quickly learn and join in with repetitive phrases. Staff enthusiastically engage older children in conversations and support them to hear new vocabulary. Staff ask children age-appropriate questions and narrate as children play. This helps to extend children's vocabulary. n Children develop a secure understanding of numbers, counting and size through some planned learning opportunities. For example, they count and measure

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need to do better?

ingredients as they make biscuits. Staff play alongside children and introduce mathematical language, such as 'bigger' and 'smaller', as they pick strawberries from the allotment. This helps to develop children's early mathematical skills. n Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour and support them well. They use effective strategies to help children to manage their own feelings and behaviours. For instance, staff explain why rules are in place, such as when

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need to do better?

30 August 2023 using safety equipment. n Overall, there is an ambitious curriculum in place. Staff have a good knowledge of children's individual needs and interests. Staff use observations and assessments and plan exciting and interesting activities. They demonstrate a good level of teaching. However, occasionally, staff do not recognise opportunities to extend and challenge children's learning even further. n Leaders ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported effectively to make good progress. Staff are quick to identify children who are not at their expected levels of development. They make swift referrals and consistently work in partnership with other professionals to develop targeted plans for all children who need them. This helps these children to make the best possible progress. n Partnerships with parents are a real strength of the setting. They are involved

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need to do better?

and informed about their children's learning. Staff provide ideas and suggestions to parents about how they can support children's learning at home. They gather detailed information from parents about what children know and can do when they first start at the setting. However, staff do not use this information to plan effectively for children's learning from the very beginning. That said, parents cannot speak highly enough about the nurturing staff and how well they accommodate children's individual needs. n Leaders use supervision meetings to talk about staff's well-being and identify training that is specific to individual staff's needs. They recognise the importance of staff's well-being and keeping professional development up to date. Staff comment on the strong relationships and how they feel well supported by the leadership team.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Managers and staff understand the importance of their role in protecting children. Staff understand the procedures to follow should they have any concerns about children's welfare. The manager ensures that staff keep their knowledge up to date through regular safeguarding discussions and training. Staff understand the procedures to follow, should they have a concern about a colleague's conduct. They are also confident of the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of female genital mutilation or county lines. The provider carries out robust staff suitability checks. Managers and staff carry out daily risk assessments of the learning environment to ensure that children can play and learn safely.

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should:

n support staff to focus more closely on all of the available opportunities within

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should:

30 August 2023 activities to challenge and extend children's learning even further n use the initial information gathered from parents to plan for children's learning effectively from the very beginning.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY438503 Local authority Stockton-on-Tees Inspection number 10305565 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 50 Number of children on roll 100 Name of registered person Smith, Lisa Jane

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reference number

Telephone number 01642 550942 Date of previous inspection 26 February 2018

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Information about this early years setting

Tummyticklers registered in 2012 and is located in Stockton-on-Tees. The nursery employs 21 members of childcare staff. Of these, 15 staff hold appropriate qualifications at level 3, one member of staff has a level 6 qualification and one member of staff has a level 4 qualification. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round, except for bank holidays. Sessions are from 7am until 6pm. The nursery is in receipt of funding to provide early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the nursery received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the manager and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the nursery. n The inspector observed the interactions between staff and children. n The manager, deputy and the inspector carried out a learning walk, and discussed the curriculum. n The inspector spoke to parents and listened to their views about the nursery. n A joint observation of an activity was carried out by the manager and the inspector. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation and reviewed evidence of the suitability of adults working in the setting.

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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

30 August 2023 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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