Busy Bees Belper

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and eager to arrive at the welcoming and secure nursery. They are greeted warmly and settle quickly, finding their favourite toys and activities. Staff support children well as they settle. Babies seek out familiar staff for hugs and reassurance throughout the day. Older children develop strong bonds with their key person as they seek them out for praise and encouragement, which helps children's emotional well-being and happiness. Children find photos of familiar family members in albums that staff have created and talk about who they can see.

Children understand the routines throughout the day. They are respectful and listen carefully to instructions from staff. Children co-operatively work together as they play 'hide and seek' with staff. Staff playfully count to ten and find the children as they huddle together, giggling.

Children's physical development is supported well. Children are encouraged to practise using their small muscles as they scoop up compost into pots and practise using tongs to serve themselves food at lunchtime. Staff encourage younger children to take their first steps and congratulate them enthusiastically as they achieve their goal. Older children are offered challenge as they scramble up apparatus and balance on beams, supported by encouraging staff. Staff engage with children as they practise their mark making skills. Children make marks that have a meaning to them, and proudly showing their creations to their key person.

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

• The passionate and dedicated management team continually review and reflect on the provision offered, to ensure that children and their families have positive experiences. The management team prioritise training for staff. They provide an online training platform that helps staff to understand their roles and responsibilities, and develops their practice. Staff speak favourably about the benefits and impact of the training on their knowledge of child development.
• Staff plan a wealth of activities that intrigue and excite children. The manager and her team implement a curriculum that prepares children for the next stage of their learning. This is designed to help children make the progress they are capable of. However, some staff do not provide enough challenge to children to enhance their learning further. For example, when children show an interest in the caterpillars that they are looking after in nursery, staff do not offer children new information or extend their understanding, to help them build upon what they know.
• Children communicate their needs well. Older children confidently vocalise their thoughts and needs to staff. Staff are responsive to this and provide activities that encourage communication and language development, such as sharing songs with children. However, on occasions, staff working with babies and younger children do not always recognise and build upon babies' early sounds and babble.
• Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children understand what is expected of them, and they are kind and courteous to their friends. Children listen to instructions and understand when to line up for activities or go outdoors. Staff use the story about 'the colour monster', to help children to learn about their feelings. This is incorporated into activities within nursery and children are encouraged to use the colours from the story to describe how they are feeling.
• Parents are highly complimentary about the staff at nursery. They comment that the nurturing and friendly staff team go 'above and beyond' to help to settle their children and say that the nursery prioritises the children's welfare. Parents are provided with regular feedback about their children's progress, and say that key persons build strong bonds with their children. Parents are supported to help their children learn at home through borrowing books and accessing the online nursery support system that gives suggestions for activities to enjoy together in the home environment.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well at the nursery. The management and staff team recognise the importance of early intervention to help to support children and to swiftly attend to their needs. Staff work together with parents and professionals to implement strategies that help children to blossom. As a result of this early intervention and strategy support, all children progress well while they are at nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff skills to provide further challenges to children during free play to enhance their learning
• develop how staff support babies' and younger children's communication and language skills.