Muddy Puddles Nursery

Inspection of Muddy Puddles Nursery First Rayners Lane Scout Group, Trescoe Gardens, Harrow HA2 9TB

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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

Staff build close, warm relationships with children, who settle securely. Staff take care to ensure that babies' preferences and home care routines are followed to support their well-being. They value each child highly and link activities to children's interests. Staff have high expectations of children and manage their behaviour well.

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The provision is good

The curriculum is interesting and varied, and all children make good progress. Staff monitor the progress of all children and act promptly to support those who are falling behind in their learning. Staff help children to gain good creative skills. Babies enjoy exploring the texture of flour and cereals. Older children enjoy making patterns using sponge rollers and brightly coloured paint. Staff introduce children to the sounds of different musical instruments, such as drums and shakers. Staff support children's mathematical development effectively. They teach older children how to count securely and to recognise numbers. For instance, children concentrate well as they use tongs to pick up pom-poms to match the number on a plate. Staff sing a wide variety of number songs and rhymes to support children's counting skills. Children explore the different properties of shapes as they handle wooden triangles, squares and circles. These activities support children's learning

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The provision is good

and help children to gain useful skills in preparation for school.

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need to do better?

n Staff understand how to seek advice on caring for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They talk to parents to find out about the child's needs and liaise with professionals to promote best outcomes for children. Staff prepare individual plans, with relevant learning goals, for each child. n Staff support children's physical development successfully. Children enjoy the challenge of climbing up frames. They learn to balance on low beams and steer wheeled toys carefully around the garden. Babies roll, crawl and learn to pull themselves up on large soft-play cushions. Children gain good physical skills. n Children learn how to do things for themselves. They serve themselves from communal bowls at lunchtime and pour their own drinks. Staff teach children how to put their shoes and coats on, and all children help to tidy away toys. They share and take turns to use different resources as they take part in pretend

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need to do better?

play in the home corner. n Staff have good partnerships with parents and keep them well informed about children's progress and activities. They work closely with parents in areas such as weaning and potty training to support children's development. n Leaders monitor and support staff in effective ways. They spend time in the nursery room and talk to staff about activities and children's progress. Leaders observe staff's practice and give them feedback to build their skills. They meet

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need to do better?

11 July 2025 with staff regularly and provide opportunities for professional development. For instance, staff attended a course on curriculum development, which led to greater understanding in this area. n Leaders spend time evaluating all parts of the provision. They devise relevant goals for improvement aimed at promoting the best possible outcomes for children. n Staff carry out effective work with children to develop their understanding of feelings. Children take delight in uncovering emotion cards buried under rainbow rice in a tray. Staff teach them about different emotions, and children have a good understanding of different feelings. n Overall, children gain good communication, language and literacy skills. Staff sing songs and rhymes with children, who enjoy browsing through a broad range of interesting stories. During an activity, staff teach children the names of different medical instruments. However, they do not fully open the conversation

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need to do better?

so that children can talk about their experiences of visiting the doctor's surgery. This means that children sometimes miss out on opportunities to respond to open questions to practise and enhance their understanding and language skills. n Staff sometimes give children solutions to problems that arise during their play without giving them the chance to solve things for themselves. For instance, during pretend play children say they are going on holiday and need to pack a suitcase. Staff tell them about the things they need to pack without letting children think about what they may need. This means that children sometimes miss out on opportunities to enhance their thinking skills.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n extend knowledge on how to enhance children's communication, language and literacy skills further, particularly in relation to effective questioning n strengthen the curriculum to develop children's problem-solving skills more consistently.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2599984 Local authority Harrow Inspection number 10363458 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 38 Number of children on roll 25 Name of registered person SS Ram LTD

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reference number

Telephone number 0208 866 2046 Date of previous inspection 22 July 2024

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Information about this early years setting

Muddy Puddles Nursery registered in 2021. lt is located in Harrow in the London Borough of Harrow. The nursery is open from Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, for 49 weeks of the year and is closed on public bank holidays. There are six members of childcare staff including the manager, five of whom hold appropriate childcare qualifications. This includes the manager, who holds a level 5 qualification in early years leadership, and four staff members who hold a level 3 qualification in childcare. The nursery provides government-funded childcare places.

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Inspection activities

n During the inspection, the provider went on a learning walk around the nursery with the inspector to discuss the aims of the curriculum. n The provider and the inspector carried out a joint observation of a planned group activity. n The inspector observed the interaction between staff and the children, and spoke with the children when appropriate. n The inspector held a meeting with the provider and sampled some documentation. n The inspector considered the views of staff and parents during the inspection.

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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

11 July 2025 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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