Busy Bees Day Nursery at Bristol Stoke Gifford

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children engage well in all aspects of their learning. In particular, there is a strong focus on developing children's communication, language and literacy skills through books. Young children listen well to a lively story. They remain focused and staff motivate them to engage fully. For example, they find items around the play space that correspond to the colours they have found in the book. Children achieve this well and staff competently extend them further, for example asking them to find items that are the same shape, reinforcing their learning well. Children receive praise as they make attempts to draw the shapes they have found, learning new vocabulary, such as 'spiral'. Children develop high levels of self-esteem.

Pre-school children love the opportunity to use the tape measure to measure items around the room. They work together, one measuring and anther making marks to represent the numbers. Children use mathematical language, such as saying 'this is not that long'. Staff interact well, modelling language and number formation, to support children's learning.

When babies decide to build with the soft-play shapes, staff interact well. They provide a good narrative to babies' actions, building their vocabulary. Babies listen well and follow simple instructions, for example matching the two blue shapes, placing them on top of each other. Older babies show curiosity as they explore the sand. They investigate using the different tools, developing good small-muscle skills as they pour, dig and sieve the sand. There is good commentary throughout as children hear and use new words in their play.

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

• The curriculum is well designed and provides a broad and balanced range of experiences for children to enjoy. It is well understood by those who are delivering the ongoing training to staff to fully embed their knowledge of how to implement the new curriculum. However, recent staffing and recruitment issues have led to less staff supervision meetings to coach and support staff in their role.
• Staff focus keenly on assessing children's progress and identifying any gaps in their learning. They adapt the curriculum effectively to enable all children to make progress. Staff work closely with parents to gain additional funding and liaise well with other agencies to bring about essential support to meet individual children's needs.
• Children confidently lead their learning around a well-organised environment, which provides opportunities for children to extend their ideas. For example, young children manipulate the dough well, using a range of tools and later consolidate these skills as they make footprints with the dinosaurs they have added to their play. Staff praise children as they explore new words, for example describing the dinosaur as 'gigantic'. Staff extend learning well through their positive interactions. Children help to sort and compare the dinosaurs by size, weight and height. Children use their imagination well, building stories, and talking animatedly about their experiences of visiting a zoo, as they make connections in their learning.
• Children understand behaviour expectations and boundaries. They behave well and are kind to each other. For example, pre-school children ask politely if they can join a focused activity. Children listen well to instructions, such as to find a space to explore different ways of jumping. Overall, the routines of the day meet children's needs and they remain engaged. However, children wait for a long time as they get ready for lunch and wait for staff to serve it, and some children become restless and disengaged from their learning.
• The key-person system is effective and staff know their children well. They work closely with parents, especially during settling-in visits, to help children feel safe and settle quickly into nursery life. Babies thoroughly enjoy the close relationships they have with familiar staff. They engage well in intimate group times. They gain independence, such as choosing the wooden spoon representing their favourite song. Staff reassure babies, cuddling them close, when new adults enter the room. Staff are respectful, for example, they ask children before helping them pull their trousers up and before checking their nappies.
• The provider has a good overview of the nursery through effective evaluation and accurate action plans to maintain good-quality care and education. On occasion, the provider has not addressed their actions as swiftly as they could. For example, re-engaging some parents to share information about their child's learning and to support learning at home more consistently.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• engage all parents in sharing information about their children's care, learning and development to enable more consistency in meeting children's needs
• improve the consistency in opportunities for staff to develop their personal effectiveness
• review the organisation of lunchtime transitions to enable children to remain focused and engaged in their learning.