Busy Bees Day Nursery at Croydon

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

There is a safe and happy atmosphere at this nursery. Staff are caring and spend their time engaging with children in meaningful ways. Staff supervise children well, indoors and outdoors. For instance, in the baby room, staff ensure that they are easily approachable for the youngest children to meet their developmental needs. Staff provide a healthy meal plan. All children enjoy healthy snacks and fresh drinking water. Staff promptly respond to children, such as when they ask for additional food at mealtimes, to support their growth. They follow the nursery's procedures for responding effectively to children's accidents. This includes monitoring children's injuries for any patterns of concern.

Staff plan and implement the nursery's 'bee curious' curriculum, emphasising children's need to develop their language skills. They read storybooks to children to extend their vocabulary. Children, including babies and toddlers, look at books together for pleasure. They show curiosity and a love for reading from an early age. Staff teach children to be independent learners. For example, they encourage pre-school children to serve themselves and scrape off their plates at mealtimes. Staff promote 'sharing is caring' to teach children good manners. This encourages children to play well with each other.

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

• Leaders maintain high expectations for all staff and children. They monitor how staff manage children's behaviour to ensure that it is positive. Children behave well because they are actively engaged in exploration.
• Children love playing and learning, showing great motivation. During outdoor activities, babies enjoy splashing in water, exploring cause and effect. Pre-school children show strong spatial awareness as they navigate the garden on imaginative adventures, such as going on a bear hunt. Children enjoy themselves and ask staff to repeat activities. Children also show sustained concentration when engaged in activities, such as manipulating dough or playing with toy cars.
• Staff assess children's learning to guide their planning. They implement a strong curriculum that equips children with the necessary skills for their future education. This approach supports all children. Children learn to follow instructions and socialise with others.
• Staff offer children praise and cuddles. This enhances children's well-being. Staff in the baby room are enthusiastic, singing songs and rhymes that engage children effectively. Staff working with toddlers help them to build towers using toy bricks. Toddlers laugh with enjoyment as they watch their towers topple down.
• Staff promote children's health effectively. They teach children about good hygiene practices and provide them with nutritious meals and fresh drinking water. Staff follow the nursery's procedures for administering medication to ensure children's welfare. For instance, they obtain written permission from parents before giving any medication. Additionally, staff adhere to the nursery's guidelines for sharing information, such as regarding children's accidents and incidents.
• Leaders follow the correct procedures for reporting concerns to relevant agencies, including allegations against staff. They ensure that staff complete mandatory training, such as safeguarding and first aid, to secure their knowledge of how to protect children's safety.
• Parents report that staff are kind and caring. They are happy with their children's good progress, such as in their self-confidence. Newer families have reported a positive settling-in experience. However, leaders do not ensure that all parents feel informed about their children's learning and are familiar with their child's key person. This does not promote a consistent approach to children's care and education needs.
• Leaders evaluate staff's practices rigorously. After Ofsted notifications, they have reviewed the recruitment and induction procedures and staff's suitability checks. Leaders have also focused on deployment strategies to reduce accidents in the nursery. They improved their risk assessment procedures and provided more space for children to practise their physical skills. This is especially beneficial for the youngest children who are learning to walk.
• Staff enjoy their work with children. However, leaders have not extended the arrangements in place for monitoring, coaching and mentoring staff to lead to consistently high-quality care and education.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• explore other ways of sharing information with parents about their children's learning, including their named key person
• develop a more effective system for identifying staff's training needs to enhance their performance, including teaching skills.