Busy Bees Birlingham

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the nursery happy and separate from their parents or carers with ease. They form secure, trusting relationships with the caring staff who know them well. Staff greet children with a smile and offer reassuring cuddles if needed. This helps children to feel safe and secure. Older children are independent. They take responsibility for their belongings, hanging their bag on their coat peg.

Leaders design the curriculum to ensure teaching promotes children's long-term memory. Staff provide children with regular opportunities to rehearse and retrieve prior learning, such as vocabulary. They engage children in thoughtful conversations during play. For example, young children excitedly observe an insect on the window, and staff are quick to respond, encouraging them to describe what they see. Staff use simple, clear language to help babies develop early speech and understanding. Babies clap their hands as staff enthusiastically sing action songs. They introduce words such as 'shake' to demonstrate how to make noise with musical instruments. Children behave well and are developing good social skills. They are learning to take turns, share resources and show care towards others. Pre-school children are prepared for the move to school. Staff invite reception teachers into the nursery to share information and get to know children in familiar surroundings. This aids their move from nursery to school.

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

• The leadership and management of the nursery are good. Leaders and managers demonstrate a clear understanding of their individual roles and responsibilities, which contributes to the smooth day-to-day running of the nursery. Leaders have a realistic view of what the nursery does well and what needs to improve. They use self-evaluation to support ongoing development. Leaders recognise that some staff need further training to deliver the new curriculum fully. Plans are in place to provide this support, demonstrating leaders' commitment to staff development and continuous improvement.
• Children make good progress from their starting points. Staff make regular observations and assessments to gain an understanding of what children know and can do. This helps them to plan activities to support children's ongoing development. However, on occasions, some planned next steps in learning are not aligned with children's immediate learning needs. This means opportunities to build on children's learning are not as focused as they could be to help children make even better progress.
• Staff support children to develop healthy habits. Children wash their hands regularly and enjoy nutritious meals and snacks prepared by the on-site cook. Staff help keep children safe outdoors. They monitor the ultraviolet levels and ensure children wear sun hats and cream. However, staff do not always explain why these actions matter to help children understand how to make healthy lifestyle choices. Although screen use in nursery is limited, staff do not yet provide children with enough activities to help them learn the importance of managing screen time at home.
• Children have some opportunities to learn about different cultures and celebrations. For example, they make Mother's Day cards based on home traditions. However, children do not develop a broad understanding of diversity to prepare them for life in modern Britain. Staff do not plan enough experiences to help them explore a wide range of cultures, family structures and beliefs.
• Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They model respect and set clear, consistent boundaries such as using kind hands and indoor voices. Children understand what is expected. They use good manners, and wait their turn to tidy up after meals.
• Staff support children to develop good physical skills. All children have regular access to well-resourced outdoor areas. Children excitedly run, confidently climb and balance on apparatus. They use their imagination as they pretend to cook and make staff cups of tea in the outdoor kitchen. Staff help young children develop mathematical knowledge. They encourage them to count how many plates there are and to identify more and fewer.
• Relationships with parents are good. Staff share information with them in a range of ways, for example through daily discussions and online learning records. Parents are very happy with the quality of care and education their children receive. They value the nursery's supportive ethos and the warm relationships staff have with their children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen children's planned next steps in learning to ensure they are consistently matched to their individual learning needs and enable staff to deliver targeted teaching, helping children make the best progress
• enhance opportunities for children to develop a deeper understanding of healthy lifestyle choices and make more informed decisions about their health and well-being, building lifelong healthy habits both in and out of nursery
• provide children with even more experiences to learn about different cultures, beliefs and family structures, strengthening their understanding of diversity and preparing them better for life in modern Britain.