Little Pickles

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children love to sing, dance and hear stories. They pick a song card and use hand signs while they sing along. Children begin to dance and jump around.

They find finger puppets to go with the nursery rhyme 'Humpty Dumpty'. Staff follow the children's lead. Children get cosy on a blanket when they feel tired, and staff read a story to them.

Other children start the morning with 'wake and shake', which helps them get ready for the day ahead. Children enjoy nurturing relationships with staff, and they feel happy and safe. Children learn independence skills at the setting.

They go out in small groups to lay the ta...ble before lunchtime. Children talk about 'teamwork'. They pour milk into their cups.

Children notice when there is water on the floor, and they independently go to find tissues to help clean up the spillage. Staff praise children for their good efforts, and this builds their self-esteem.Children feel respected.

Staff ask children if they can change their nappy. This teaches children that they have a voice that adults value and listen to. Staff support all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, effectively.

Staff plan for children's individual needs with parents and other professionals. This supports children's progress and well-being.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

Children access a sequenced curriculum.

They make good progress in their communication and language development. Staff talk to children at their level and speak slowly. They use a range of aids to ensure all children can understand.

For example, staff show children an amber card to let them know they have five minutes left until it is time to come inside from the garden, and they show a red card when the time is up. Some staff use hand signs with children to communicate. This ensures all children receive the same information and are able to respond.

Staff provide interesting objects for children to explore that spark their curiosity. Children peep inside a large cardboard box and find more smaller boxes. They shake the boxes and guess what is inside.

Children are eager to look inside each box and are highly engaged. Staff add items such as long pieces of cardboard, and children suggest using these as tunnels while they build. This motivates children to be inquisitive about how things work.

Staff assess that some children need further opportunity to develop their physical skills. They add another outdoor playtime to the daily routine and set up activities to progress children's gross motor skills. Toddlers climb up steps and stand tall above their friends.

They push a wheelbarrow along the floor and crawl over mats. Children squeal with delight as they run under the standing tractor tyres. They learn to take age-appropriate risks and build resilience when they successfully jump off a small ledge onto the bark.

This promotes children's confidence and coordination skills.Children have the opportunity to problem-solve together. They take turns pouring water from one container into another.

Staff ask, 'Is it empty or full?' Children talk about the jugs made of plastic. This develops their knowledge of materials. Staff support the children in finding a solution for how to transfer water from one pot to another using a tube.

However, staff do not extend children's knowledge of numbers. Staff miss opportunities to count with children as they pour from one container to the other and during other activities throughout the day. Children are not consistently able to develop their counting skills.

While staff have recently undertaken training to support children with managing their emotions, they are not successfully implementing what they have learned with all children. Occasionally, when children have disagreements with their friends, staff do not help them to recognise the impact of their actions on others.Parents enjoy receiving updates from an app during the day.

They speak highly of the 'home challenge packs' on offer. Parents comment that this helps to further their children's learning at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Children help staff to risk assess the garden every morning. They look for hazards and discuss how they can make the environment safe. This teaches children how to minimise potential accidents.

Children learn about road safety and practise crossing a road nearby. Staff are alert to changes in children's behaviour that may give them cause for concern. They know how to recognise signs of abuse or neglect.

Staff know how to escalate safeguarding concerns and which outside agencies to contact if necessary. Staff support parents to understand how to keep children safe online.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: develop ways for children to engage in more opportunities to count, to embed their knowledge of numbers further continue to develop staff practice in managing children's emotions.