Busy Bees Day Nursery at Crawley

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time at this nursery. They are eager to arrive and engage in a range of stimulating activities. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure in the presence of adults. They approach the inspector and invite her to play. They are proud to show a picture that they have made 'for mummy' and share a 'cake' that they have made with dough. Babies are settled and content. They cuddle the staff and giggle when they are tickled. Babies enjoy playing with musical instruments and attempt to copy the actions to rhymes and songs that staff sing to them.

Children enjoy playing alongside staff and develop warm bonds with their key person. They are aware of the expectations and boundaries, and from a young age they demonstrate a confidence in the routines. For example, older children enjoy sharing tasks, such as setting up the table for lunch. Younger children pass cutlery and jugs to one another. They are polite and say 'please' and 'thank you' without being prompted by an adult. Children are kind and they behave well. They share toys and know that they must wait their turn to join in some activities. For example, they sit and wait patiently for their turn on a bicycle. They beam and say, 'Yes! It's my turn now. Thank you!' to a friend.

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

• Staff provide adult-led activities to teach children mathematical concepts. For instance, they mix cake ingredients and talk about 'more' and 'less'. Older children learn to count on their fingers and estimate a number of items. Babies practice their early problem-solving skills as they handle different shapes.
• Parents are very happy with the quality of care and education that the nursery provides. They are eager to tell the inspector that staff have gone 'above and beyond' to ensure that their child has the correct dietary requirements. Parents mention that communication is very strong, and they enjoy the daily feedback and regular newsletters which give important information about the nursery.
• All children do well from their starting points, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The knowledgeable special educational needs coordinator ensures that children receive timely support to enable them to progress. Staff support children in a variety of ways and families are kept well-informed and included in their child's educational and care journey.
• Overall, staff promote children's language and communication skills well. Children learn new vocabulary as they listen to stories and engage with adults during play. However, there are times when staff do not help children to develop their home language skills alongside English to further support their communication and language skills. This sometimes has an impact on the communication skills made by some children who speak English as an additional language.
• Children's physical health is well supported. They have daily opportunities to run around, ride bicycles and practice yoga. Children enjoy a range of home-cooked nutritious meals. They have a firm understanding of why it is important to look after their teeth. Children tell the inspector that 'eating too many cakes and sweeties will put holes in your teeth'. They have good self-care routines. Children wash their hands before eating and before going to the toilet. Older children use tissues to blow their own nose.
• Generally, the majority of staff support and extend children's learning well. They focus on children's existing knowledge and what they need to do next in order to make progress. However, very occasionally, some staff are not consistent in their teaching, and some activities are pitched too high and are difficult to understand for some children. Consequently, at times, there are minor variations in the quality of teaching.
• The manager and senior leaders have a highly ambitious curriculum for all children who attend the nursery. They have identified the learning intentions which will allow children to progress onto the next stage in their learning. Children are independent and confident in their learning. Staff are supported well to gain further knowledge through training. They comment that their workload is manageable and that they feel valued and listened to by the managers.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide more opportunities for children who speak EAL to use their home language in play and learning to further support their communication and language skills
• improve teaching to the highest level to ensure that all staff consistently plan activities which challenge children appropriately and support them to make the best possible progress.