Bumbles Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Managers and staff support children to feel comfortable and secure in this home-from-home nursery environment. Children happily say goodbye to their parents as they enter the nursery. They smile and sing as they explore the wide range of age-appropriate activities available. Managers and staff have created a curriculum which ensures that all children succeed and feel valued and treasured. They help children build resilience, curiosity and a love of learning. Staff speak to children in soft, encouraging voices and celebrate children's achievements. For example, cheering when a child completes an activity or learns a new skill. Children know their opinions matter. Staff hold interesting conversations with children and give them time to think and respond.

Babies have ample space to move and develop early physical skills like crawling, pulling themselves up to balance and walking. Children of all ages have access to outdoor play areas where they develop physical skills further. For example, older children enjoy running, sliding and balancing.

Staff support older children to prepare for their next stage of learning. Pre-school children learn to take turns in group discussions. They confidently recount the days of the week and the months of the year. They enjoy a wide range of activities, including drawing, cutting and painting and they develop their creativity, dexterity and coordination.

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

• Managers have created a varied and ambitious curriculum to help children develop the skills they need to be successful learners. Babies and toddlers explore in calm learning environments and enjoy a well-established routine. Staff play gentle classical music and nursery rhymes while younger children play, such as when drawing with chalk or completing matching puzzles. Pre-school children demonstrate an ability to follow instructions and sit in a group. However, due to a recent, significant increase in the number of children attending the pre-school and subsequent changes in the groupings of the two pre-school rooms, the routine in the pre-school is not securely embedded. Children do not fully understand expectations and as a result, at times there is a lot of physical movement and noise. This prevents older children from having opportunities to concentrate and become deeply involved in their activities, developing their learning even further.
• Managers and staff place a strong emphasis on supporting children to develop their social and emotional skills. They foster strong relationships with children and the manager has created an effective key-person system. Children feel secure, smile a lot and enjoy being in the nursery. They joyfully run to the manager and staff for hugs throughout the day. These positive relationships enable children to become confident learners and make good progress in their learning and development. However, staff do not always support children to develop their independence. For example, older children are not given opportunities to develop skills and independence during mealtimes.
• Staff encourage children to be kind and respectful to others and to share and take turns. For example, staff guide older children to enjoy a cooperative game of role play, pretending to be teachers in a school classroom. However, when there are instances of negative behaviour, staff do not further support children to understand how their behaviour impacts on others by explaining why some behaviours are not appropriate and how they can make other people feel.
• The manager has developed a strong focus on language and communication. They recognise the impact of the COVID-19 on children's language and communication development. Staff support children to build their communication skills and confidence by using sign language, visual signs and carefully choose the words they speak to help children build a rich vocabulary. Staff often read stories to children and they develop a love of books. Staff provide challenge for more-able children, such as through enjoying reading an encyclopaedia on dinosaurs together.
• Parents are happy with the care their children receive. They feel well supported by staff and state that communication is effective. Parents feel informed about what their children know and can do and recommend the nursery to others.
• Managers are dedicated to their role and ensure that children, families and staff are well supported. They have created a strong team of staff who enjoy coming to work. They support staff's professional development with regular supervision meetings. Managers have good links with other early years professionals and local schools. They share information about children's progress to support them in their transition to the next stage of learning. They ensure they have regular contact with other settings when a child attends more than one setting to better support children's learning and development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support pre-school staff to develop the structure and routines of the day, to establish expectations for older children
• make the most of daily opportunities to increase children's independence skills, with particular focus on mealtimes for older children
• support children even further to understand how their behaviour impacts on others.