Busy Bees Day Nursery at Bury St Edmunds

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children happily enter the nursery and are welcomed by nurturing staff. Staff work closely with parents to make sure they know babies' routines at home and follow these to help them settle quickly. As a result, babies have strong attachments with their key person, which promotes their emotional well-being.

Staff plan an effective curriculum to help children make good progress and be ready for the next stage in their learning. The environment for babies is planned well to enable them to develop their core muscles as they pull to stand on low-level furniture. Children take part in small group activities where they enjoy songs and dance. Staff read familiar stories to children and encourage children to recall familiar phrases. Children show positive attitudes towards their learning and play, and they generally behave well.

Children enjoy being physically active in the outdoor environment. Young children develop their hand-to-eye coordination as they scoop mud, leaves and twigs into bowls to make mud pies. Staff teach children to be resilient learners. For example, when they pour their mixture from one bowl to another and it spills on the floor, they encourage children to try again. This supports children to work hard to achieve and gives them a sense of pride in what they can do for themselves.

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

• There have been several changes to the management structure since the last inspection. Staff are positive about the new manager who has been recently promoted to post, having worked in the nursery for a number of years. The manager is dedicated in her role to improving learning experiences for all children.
• Children demonstrate a growing vocabulary. Staff plan activities to help children develop their listening and speaking skills. They model building sentences by repeating what children say and adding new words. They narrate children's play and encourage them to share their thoughts and ideas. Staff use simple Makaton sign language to support the development of spoken language for those children who need additional support. As a result, children make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff help children make decisions about what they want to do and have a voice in their nursery. For example, children in the pre-school room are invited to join the nursery council, where children share their thoughts and ideas and discuss upcoming events. Children decide that they wish to change a role-play area into a pizza restaurant. Staff provide the resources for children to create this. This helps to promote children's self-esteem and self-worth.
• Staff interaction with children is not consistently high during transition times, between mealtimes, and some activities, compared to other times of the day. For instance, some children wait too long for their lunch without staff engaging them in learning opportunities. At other times, children wander around while waiting for staff to complete other duties, such as supporting children going to sleep. Consequently, during these times, children are not engaged in meaningful learning.
• Older children behave well. They demonstrate positive attitudes to learning through high levels of concentration, particularly during small group time. They are polite and kind to their friends. However, younger children's behaviour is not as well supported. When children display poor behaviour, this is not challenged to help them understand how their behaviour affects others.
• Children have good opportunities to develop their independence. For example, younger children are encouraged by staff to wash their hands at appropriate times. Staff involve older children with the preparation of snack and mealtimes. Children help choose the pictures to add to the table menus so that older children know what it is that they will be eating. This helps children to develop a sense of responsibility and builds their confidence and self-esteem.
• Partnerships with parents are positive. Staff share children's information and progress electronically with parents through an online platform. Parents share information from their weekend activities and children confidently talk about these with their friends. This helps children to strengthen their memory and build a sense of self. Parents report that their children are making good progress, particularly with their speech and language.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to maintain the quality of interaction with children throughout the day, especially at times of transition
• help staff working with younger children to build on behaviour management strategies to help children understand what is expected of them and how their behaviour affects others.