Beighton Bizzy Bee Family Childcare Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and engaged in this warm and welcoming childcare centre. Babies and children make a positive start to their learning experiences. They develop strong bonds with the staff who care for them. Staff work closely with parents and carers to understand children's interests, needs and routines. They plan effectively overall to support all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to make good progress. Children develop their curiosity and creativity. For example, they use magnifying glasses to investigate natural objects or create their own treasure maps. Children are well prepared for the next stage in their learning, including starting school.

Children feel safe and cared for by the friendly and engaging staff. They behave well. Children learn to follow instructions for activities, such as tidying up, washing their hands and playing games. Staff help children to make decisions about their play and learning. Children learn to keep themselves safe as, for example, they make obstacle courses for climbing and balancing on. The manager and her staff have high expectations for every child to gain the most from their time in the nursery. Parents thoroughly appreciate all that staff do to help their children learn. They welcomed the measures taken to keep children safe during the COVID-19 pandemic and the good communication which they receive.

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

• Staff plan activities which engage children and help them to make good progress overall in all aspects of their learning. For example, babies develop their hand control as they make colourful gold and silver firework prints with small objects and their hands. Children build on these skills to create detailed drawings of their home and family and begin to form letter shapes. However, occasionally, staff do not match tasks closely to children's capability and understanding to support the very best progress.
• The highly experienced manager and her senior team provide passionate and purposeful leadership. They establish high expectations through robust recruitment procedures and strong support for staff's further training and development. New initiatives, such as education programmes to strengthen children's communication and literacy skills, are carefully introduced. The impact on children's learning is closely monitored and reviewed.
• Staff strongly support children with SEND. They identify gaps in children's learning and development at an early stage. Staff work closely with other professionals, such as speech therapists, to plan for children's future learning. Staff make very good use of exciting resources, such as the sensory room, to help to meet children's emotional and development needs.
• Children's personal development is strongly promoted. They behave very well.
• Staff are warm, caring and nurturing. They work closely with parents to establish clear routines for babies to play, eat and sleep. Babies soon grow in confidence and self-awareness. Children learn to be increasingly independent and decisive. For instance, young children make very good attempts to remove their own coats and hang them on their pegs. Children are polite and friendly, and learn to share and take turns.
• Staff place a high importance on the development of children's speaking and listening skills. Staff help babies and children to build their communication skills as they play. For instance, they talk gently and clearly to babies as they play and use sign language to support their understanding. Staff hold frequent discussions with children. They help children describe emotions, such as 'happy', 'angry' or 'sad, as they play games with photos and treasure baskets.
• Staff strongly promote children's love of books. They teach children a wide range of nursery rhymes, traditional tales and songs. Staff carefully choose books that develop children's interests and language experiences and support all areas of their learning. Children also enjoy the opportunity to share books at home through the centre's lending library.
• Staff encourage children's healthy lifestyle and well-being. Children learn to identify and understand the benefits of eating fruit and vegetables during friendly discussions with staff at snack and mealtimes. Staff help children to clean their teeth regularly and brush with care. Staff provide useful information and resources for parents to help children to eat healthily.
• Parents proudly recommend the centre. They feel that staff go the extra mile to support their children and ensure that they get any additional support they need. Parents welcome the frequent feedback which they receive about their children's successes.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to match tasks consistently to children's capability and understanding, to help them to make the best progress.