Pumpkins Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are content and happy. They form warm and caring relationships with staff, who are on hand to welcome them as they arrive. Children are familiar with the morning routine and know where to place their belongings.

Staff spend time getting to know the children's likes and interests. Staff use this information to plan and create valuable experiences that capture children's imagination. This supports all children to make good progress from their varying starting points.

Staff have high expectations of what individual children can achieve. Children are encouraged to have their own opinions and to make choices. For e...xample, babies browse pictures of the toys available at nursery.

They select the ones they would like by passing the photo to staff. Staff quickly provide the chosen toys, much to the delight of the babies.Children use their imaginations well as they act out real-life experiences, using the many role-play resources.

For example, they pretend to make tea, do the cleaning and put their dolls to bed. Children carefully negotiate space in the garden while on tricycles and scooters. They talk about the importance of remembering to stop at the zebra crossing to let people safely cross their pretend road.

Children happily take part in many activities that support them in acquiring the key skills they need for future learning.

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

Children enjoy learning to do things for themselves. They become increasingly independent in their self-care.

Staff encourage and support toddlers to feed themselves. Older children are taught how to wipe their own noses, put on their own coats and shoes and to help serve their meals.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from close, targeted support.

Staff are knowledgeable about the needs of individuals and their families. They attend specific training to ensure that they can meet their individual needs. Partnerships with outside agencies and professionals are strong.

Parents speak highly of the service provided. They comment on how welcome and supported they feel and say that their children love attending. On occasions, staff do not collect thorough enough information about children's likes and dislikes prior to them starting.

As a result, staff do not always know enough about children to help them settle quickly.Children are provided with a range of snacks and freshly prepared meals each day. Staff involve children in preparing snacks.

Older children are taught how to keep safe when using a knife to slice up pieces of pepper. They choose from a selection of dips to have with their vegetable sticks. Staff discuss how some foods grow on plants and how eating the right food helps to keep us healthy.

Children enjoy regular fresh air and exercise. This helps them to develop their physical skills and supports their good health and well-being. Children enjoy running, jumping and climbing outside.

Staff interact sensitively with children and support their developing language skills effectively. They introduce words, ask questions, use repetition and act as good role models for communication. They use lots of open-ended questions to encourage children to think and solve problems, while also giving them time to respond.

The provider, manager and staff are dedicated and enthusiastic. The manager and staff regularly observe each other at work. They offer support, developing good practice even further through reflective, critical observations of staff's teaching skills.

While the manager and staff are committed to continual improvement, current self-evaluation processes are not yet focused enough to drive improvements to the highest level.Children behave well. They take turns and share resources, which helps them to develop good social skills.

Children are clear about the routines at nursery and know the 'five golden rules' very well. Staff use a calm and consistent approach to manage children's behaviour and help them to understand their emotions.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager and staff are knowledgeable about the signs and symptoms to look for which may indicate that a child is at risk of harm. They complete safeguarding training and the safeguarding lead regularly tests out the knowledge of staff through discussions and quizzes. This ensures that they have a very good knowledge, including of wider safeguarding issues.

The manager has robust recruitment procedures in place. She completes rigorous checks to ensure that only those suitable to work with children are able to do so.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nextend current reflection and evaluation procedures and use these systems effectively to drive improvements to the highest level nensure thorough information is collected from parents prior to children starting, to help children settle quickly.