Busy Bees Day Nursery at Basingstoke Hospital

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children benefit from a safe and secure environment where their emotional well-being is fostered to a high level. Babies develop strong bonds with familiar and nurturing staff who meet their needs well. Older children and staff enjoy each other's company. They establish strong relationships that reflect the nursery values of kindness and respect. Children behave well.

Children are confident, engaged and motivated to learn. Babies quickly develop their confidence in walking, benefiting from an array of exciting resources to support their physical skills. Older babies become immersed in sensory play, making colourful patterns with brushes in powder paint. The youngest babies squeal with delight as staff use brushes to cover their feet with paint. Staff model new language, such as 'again' and 'splash', successfully supporting children's acquisition of new words.

Older children are equally well supported to become inquisitive and curious learners. Toddlers energetically splash in puddles after a heavy rain shower, counting their jumps and demonstrating a good grasp of number. They expertly ride bikes around the outdoor area and readily share these when their friends ask for their turn. Pre-school children become engrossed in story books, tucked away in small, cosy dens in the garden. They enjoy group games with their friends, where they take turns, listen well and speak with confidence.

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

• Leaders identify clear priorities for continuous improvement that accurately reflect the needs of the children and their families. The centre manager provides strong leadership for the staff team and is relentless in her pursuit to deliver a high-quality service. She acts on the advice of others, including the local authority, to successfully embed new ways of working to improve outcomes for children. Leaders have successfully remedied the weaknesses identified at the previous inspection.
• A robust programme of professional development equips staff with the ongoing training and skills to fulfil the responsibilities of their roles well. Staff continue to embed support for children's communication skills and implement strategies to challenge children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) further. At times, staff's understanding of what they want children to learn during planned activities is not precise enough. Despite these weaknesses, leaders' strong oversight of the educational programmes leads to rapidly improving staff confidence in these areas. These weaknesses do not detract from the well-balanced curriculum or children's continued good progress overall.
• Staff promote children's imagination and foster children's love for reading well.
• Children become enthralled as staff animatedly read a popular story. Staff pause with good effect, create feelings of intrigue and mystery, and ask well-placed questions to make children think. Children respond eagerly, showing good recall of the characters in the book.
• Staff sensitively support children's mental well-being and self-esteem. Children are supported to talk about their feelings and learn to keep on trying when faced with difficult tasks. They learn that their view counts and is acted on, as staff consult with them on the activities, food choices and games to play. Children show positive attitudes towards their learning. They gain confidence in a range of self-care tasks and are well prepared for their next stage in learning, including moving on to school.
• Children's good health is successfully promoted. Children know to wash their hands before lunch with little reminders from staff. They tuck into nutritious meals and snacks, with staff vigilantly managing children's dietary needs. Predictable daily routines underpin children's good levels of independence. For example, toddlers set out the cutlery at mealtimes and pre-school children clear away their plates after lunch. Young children benefit from a well-resourced sleep room where they rest comfortably and recharge. Children's love of outdoor play is embraced by staff, who successfully plan a range of challenging experiences outside. Children make strong gains in their physical skills.
• Respectful and trusting relationships are established with parents and allow for effective information sharing to support children's next steps in learning. Parents commend staff for the informative updates on their child's day and the ideas on how to build further on this at home. Leaders readily act on parents' feedback. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to ensure consistency in their approach to supporting children with SEND.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to implement the precise learning intentions of activities more effectively, so they are clear about what skills and knowledge they want children to gain
• develop staff's knowledge and understanding of how to support and provide appropriate challenge for children with SEND, to help ensure all children make the best possible progress
• strengthen the use of strategies such as questioning and introducing new vocabulary, to support children's communication and language skills further.