Busy Bees Day Nursery at Daventry

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children receive a very warm welcome on arrival at the nursery. This helps them feel valued and creates a very positive start to their day. Children show they feel safe and secure as they confidently leave their parents at the door. They happily participate in activities and demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. For example, babies clap their hands and smile as staff sing with them. Toddlers are given interesting items to paint, which provokes their conversational skills. Children learn about how things grow as they explore and talk about daffodils. Outside, pre-school children eagerly build an assault course as staff encourage them to think critically and test out their ideas. This also supports children to learn about potential risks as they are encouraged to check the planks are secure before they cross.

Children learn to behave well. They are encouraged to show kindness and respect for their peers, share resources and take turns. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and support them to join in daily routines and follow nursery boundaries. Staff support children to understand their emotions as they read stories that promote conversations about feelings. Children respond well to the warm praise they receive for their efforts, supporting their well-being. They learn to be confident as they proudly place their art on the display board.

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

• Staff plan and implement a broad curriculum that they link to children's interests and what they need to learn next. Children benefit from a wide range of adult-led experiences to support them across each area of learning. However, although staff know what they want individual children to learn, they do not provide continuous support during daily routines and child-led activities.
• Overall, the staff support children's communication and language well. They sing action songs and enthusiastically read stories. During play, staff talk with children and help them to pronounce words correctly. Staff provide some additional support to children who speak English as an additional language (EAL) and children who have speech and language needs. However, they do not always do enough to enhance children's emerging language to the highest level.
• Staff promote children's healthy lifestyles well. Children enjoy healthy, home-cooked meals and snacks provided by the nursery cook. They are taught about good oral health through books and activities. Daily outdoor play provides a range of opportunities for children to be physically active. Staff lead physical education sessions, helping children identify the effects exercise has on their bodies.
• Staff gather information from parents when children first start to help identify children's starting points. They talk to parents daily about their children's care needs and ensure these are met. The majority of children settle into the nursery well. However, staff do not always use information from home to support children who continue to struggle.
• The staff promote children's independence skills. They encourage children to put on their coats and shoes. Older children serve their own food at lunchtime and tidy away their plates as they finish eating.
• Children learn mathematical concepts through their play. Babies and toddlers learn positional language, such as 'over' and 'under', as they use props when singing songs. Older children recognise numbers and understand length as they use rulers to measure their play dough models. Children learn to identify differences in size, shape and colour through a variety of activities.
• Parent partnership is good. Parents receive regular feedback on their child's development at drop off and pick up. They assess information via an online app on how they can continue children's learning at home. They state children are always happy entering the nursery and seeing the friendly staff. Parents comment that staff provide interesting activities, and they can see the progress their children make.
• The manager carries out regular staff supervision sessions and provides staff with coaching to improve the quality of interactions with children. Staff have access to a wide range of online training resources to support their continual professional development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to promote children's next steps in learning during everyday routine activities
• strengthen support for children with EAL and those with speech and language needs to further enhance their vocabulary
• seek out further information from parents to effectively support children who struggle to settle.