Busy Bees Day Nursery at Basingstoke Chineham

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are kind and compassionate towards each other. For example, they check on their friends if they hurt themselves. Children form strong friendships with their peers, playing cooperatively and enjoying each other's company. This creates a positive learning environment. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and consistently reinforce the setting's boundaries. For instance, they remind pre-school children of the values to follow, such as being respectful and polite. As a result, children understand the boundaries and behave well.

Staff plan activities to promote each child's individual learning. Staff support children to make the best possible progress across all areas of the curriculum. Children demonstrate confidence in mathematics. They count with ease, recognise written numbers and match the correct quantity to numbers that they see. Staff set up each room in the nursery with a 'busy hands' station to provide opportunities for children to develop their fine motor skills. For example, babies use their hands to twist wooden cogs together. Older children competently use scissors to cut out pictures of school uniforms. Staff remind children how to use the scissors safely, by remaining seated and holding them carefully. This helps to teach them how to manage risks.

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

• Leaders create a curriculum with clear intentions for what they want children to learn. They focus on the key skills that children need to learn to be ready for the next stage in their education. Staff know their key children well and accurately identify what they need to learn next. Staff in the pre-school room consistently provide high-quality teaching and learning experiences. However, implementation of the curriculum is not as firmly embedded within the rooms for toddlers and babies.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Leaders and staff take time to get to know each child and their family. They build professional relationships with them and work together to support the individual needs of the children. Parents praise the nursery highly. Staff promote children's learning at home by providing families with books and toys they can borrow.
• Staff find out about the languages that children speak outside of the setting. They learn simple words in children's home languages to use within the setting. This helps children who speak English as an additional language to communicate and feel included. Staff regularly read to children. They ensure that they read in a way that keeps children engaged. For example, staff give babies soft toys relating to the book that is being read.
• Children are confident and independent. They relish opportunities to take responsibility for tasks, such as helping to set the table. Young children are encouraged to complete self-care tasks by themselves. This helps them to develop their independence. Children benefit from balanced and nutritious meals. Staff teach children how to keep healthy. For example, during mealtimes, they talk about how carbohydrates give us energy.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress. Staff make timely referrals to outside agencies when required. They work well with parents and other professionals to help close any gaps in children's learning and development.
• The nursery manager and her staff team are supported by the senior management team from the wider nursery group. Staff access a variety of training opportunities that help to develop their knowledge and skills. Leaders frequently meet with staff to provide them with supervision. Staff report that they are happy within their role and that their well-being is prioritised. New staff receive a comprehensive induction, which helps them to settle into their role well.
• Staff plan activities that promote children's physical development. For instance, staff lead sessions to encourage children to dance, move and stretch in different ways. Children wear capes and pretend to be superheroes as they practise climbing and balancing on obstacle courses in the garden. They demonstrate good imaginations and enjoy developing storylines for their play.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff working with the youngest children to implement the intended curriculum.