Busy Bees Day Nursery at Chafford Hundred

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive confident and ready to start their day. They hang up their belongings and receive a warm welcome from staff. Children's interests are valued and fully incorporated into their day. This supports them to sustain interest in their play, behave well and have positive attitudes to learning. Staff provide personalised care and learning for children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children are keen to explore and enjoy the activities staff provide. For example, babies enjoy splashing with water and building with bricks. Toddlers mix different coloured paint into water and pretend to make 'smoothies'. Pre-school children use mirrors to draw self-portraits, and they discuss what features they have that are the same and different to their peers.

Staff provide gentle reminders about positive behaviour. They encourage children to use good manners and play cooperatively together. Children learn how to look after themselves. For example, from a young age they learn how to brush their teeth and what foods are best for their health. Children are encouraged to use cutlery to feed themselves at mealtimes. They learn good hygiene routines, such as washing their hands before mealtimes. Hygiene stations are in place in each room to encourage children to wipe their own noses and dispose of the tissues appropriately.

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

• The manager is passionate about her role and a strong leader. She works closely with her dedicated staff team to provide a high-quality service for children and their families. Parents are supported well and provided with a wealth of information. Regular supervision meetings take place and staff are encouraged to engage with ongoing professional development opportunities to improve their practice. Staff report that their well-being is given a high priority and they enjoy working at the nursery.
• The key-person system is firmly embedded, and staff know their key children well. They gather information from parents to find out about each child's interests and needs from the start. They complete their own observations to monitor children's development. However, they not always make the most effective use of assessment to precisely identify children's next steps in learning. As a result, not all activities sharply focus on what children need to know and do next to help them make the most progress.
• Staff form good relationships with children's parents. They share information with parents about their children's achievements and experiences. However, they do not consistently share information about children's next steps in learning to give parents the opportunity to support children's learning at home.
• The support for children with SEND is effective. Their unique needs are quickly identified. The special educational needs coordinator supports staff to implement care and support plans that meet these needs. Staff at the nursery work very well with other professionals and share information about children. They plan and review children's personal goals to ensure that they are receiving the right help.
• Staff provide good support for children's communication and language development. For example, children have lots of opportunity to listen to and read stories. They ask questions and talk about the characters and pictures. Children enjoy singing songs every day.
• Staff promote children's physical development well. They provide activities for younger children to lie on their tummy and develop their core strength. Toddlers expertly climb up small apparatus that staff set out to encourage large movements. Older children show good coordination skills as they practise kicking and throwing balls.
• Staff take small groups of children to the sensory room, where they can explore different textures and lights. They use this room to provide support for children with SEND if they require one-to-one care for small periods of time.
• Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They purposefully role model expected behaviour, as they play together and are kind to their friends. Children who sometimes struggle to understand their own emotions, are consistently supported by staff. This helps all children to begin to understand their own and each other's feelings.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to identify more precisely each child's next steps in learning, so that all activities for children have clear focus
• extend the good communication with parents, exploring ways to consistently share information with them about how they can support their child's learning at home.