Tops Babbacombe

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Although the manager knows what she wants the children to learn, she does not ensure that staff are clear of her intentions. This means that staff do not provide children with the right levels of challenge and input they need to help involve them more in learning. Staff do not always support the quieter children or see when activities are not engaging the children well enough.

Although some children show a positive attitude towards their learning, and happily join in the activities on offer, their interest is often lost. This is because staff do not consider the group size and the mixed abilities of the children to ensure they can... capture all children's interest and attention. Some children become disengaged and wander around.

Children have developed secure attachments with staff and enjoy cuddles and reassurance. However, some children are not learning to manage their own feelings and behaviour. Staff do not set clear expectations to support children's understanding of daily routines and behavioural expectations.

This means some children do not respond to instructions from staff. They struggle to regulate their emotions and become frustrated at times.Babies smile with great delight and enjoy playing peekaboo, looking at books or using material to cover their faces.

They giggle out loud when staff gently tickle them, demonstrating their thorough enjoyment. This boosts babies' understanding of interacting with others. The manager and staff understand how to observe and assess children's development.

They use this information and what they gain from parents to plan well for what babies need to learn next and the sequence this should follow. This enables babies to move on to the next stage in their learning successfully.

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

The manager is newly appointed and has positive ideas about what she wants children to achieve and how staff are going to do this.

However, she does not ensure that all staff fully understand her expectations. Recent changes to rooms means toddlers and pre-school-aged children have been mixed together. Not all staff are able to provide appropriate challenge for these children.

During some activities, staff do not know how to tailor their support to meet the range of different needs, to help children to gain new knowledge and build on what they already know and can do. This hinders the progress that children make in their learning. Children lose interest quickly and move from one activity to the next in quick succession.

Staff do not consistently help older children to manage their feelings and emotions positively or to understand how their behaviour impacts on others. For example, when conflicts occur between children, at times, this goes unnoticed by staff until the children's behaviour escalates. Children interrupt the play of others with noise levels increasing, meaning interactions cannot be heard.

Although staff tell children when their behaviour is inappropriate and intervene to keep children safe, they do not explain why the behaviour is unacceptable or help them to develop ways to regulate their feelings and behaviour.Staff support babies' emotional well-being, offering praise and reassurance when they need it. They interact with babies warmly during care routines, such as meal and rest times.

Babies investigate sensory materials and enjoy looking at books and hearing staff sing to them.Staff promote children's physical development across the nursery. Children develop muscle strength in their hands when they are manipulating play dough.

They regularly access the outdoor environment. Staff use this space to encourage children to climb and balance. Older children run and climb, and use ride-on toys, and they particularly relish jumping in puddles.

This promotes children's following of healthy lifestyles.Routines for toddlers and pre-school children are not well managed. Children's play can often be interrupted by staff carrying out tasks such as washing hands or cleaning.

Children can spend long periods of time waiting with little interaction.Staff build positive parent partnerships. They communicate regularly with parents via an app and verbal feedback.

Staff keep parents informed of how their child is progressing with reports. Staff are proactive at offering support to families wherever necessary. For example, staff work with parents to support them to access help from external agencies.

These positive parent partnerships help children to transition well between home and nursery.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a good knowledge of what to do if they have concerns regarding a child's well-being.

They attend regular training to ensure that they keep their safeguarding knowledge up to date. The manager has a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and knows where to go for further support if necessary. Children play in a safe environment and are supervised well, including while sleeping.

The management team uses effective systems to recruit staff and to ensure their ongoing suitability.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date improve staff's understanding and delivery of the curriculum to enable them to focus specifically on what children need to learn next and provide more consistent challenges so that children benefit from good-quality interactions that help them to make good progress across all areas of learning.29/02/2024 implement consistent boundaries, with particular regard to the toddler and pre-school room, to support all children's management of their emotions and understanding of the expectations for acceptable behaviour.

31/01/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nimprove the organisation of daily routines so that they do not interrupt children's learning experiences, helping children to remain engaged and focused for longer periods of time