Busy Bees Day Nursery at Gillingham Brompton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and are greeted at the door by staff before being taken to their designated room. Children who are settling into the nursery are given the comfort and reassurance they need. Staff know the children well and set up activities they know interest them. This helps children to feel secure and settled. Younger children independently access their dummies and comforters. These are stored in individual boxes which are labelled with children's photographs. This helps to support them to manage their own feelings.

Children have access to designated outside areas. Babies enjoy exploring sand outside and older children show excitement as they sing and dance together. Staff support children to take turns and value each other's ideas. For example, they encourage children to vote on what book they want to read during group time. Staff support children to understand how to stay safe in the sun. For example, they talk to the children about using sun cream and drinking lots of water. Older children share the things they like to do at nursery. They talk about how to find bugs with magnifying glasses. Children recognise when they hear a helicopter overhead and stop their play to watch it fly over.

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

• The manager is passionate about supporting staff to ensure they understand the curriculum and implement it effectively. She provides formal supervision regularly as well as having informal meetings with the team. Staff report how well they feel supported in their role and understand their roles and responsibilities.
• The manager reflects on her practice and staff practice regularly. She is open to feedback and has meetings with senior managers to help her to identify areas they can improve. The manager and the staff team report how they feel their well-being is promoted, and they feel valued within their role.
• The special educational needs coordinator works well with staff to ensure children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported in their development. The manager has ensured children with SEND have the support they need. For example, they fund additional staff to provide extra support for children who need it. As a result, children with SEND are making progress.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents feel informed about how their children are progressing and how they can support their learning at home. They are updated regularly on their children's progress via the online platform which the nursery uses. The manager has a variety of information accessible to support parents, such as information about keeping children safe online and where parents can save money on food.
• The nursery is located near a military base and the manager finds out about how she can best support military families. For example, she has introduced a diary for children whose parents are away, to use at home and at the nursery. This is to help children count down the days until their parents return home.
• Staff know their key children well and plan activities which follow their interests. They understand the curriculum and what children need to achieve before they move on to their next stage of learning. However, staff do not always organise the environment or activities to ensure they can follow children's emerging interests. For example, staff do not always ensure there are resources available to support children's curiosity. This has an impact on how well they can challenge and extend children's learning.
• Children enjoy healthy snacks and meals and sit for snack time in small groups. Staff support children to pour their own drinks and manage their own self-care. However, staff do not always deploy themselves well enough to be able to respond to children's requests. In addition, during transition times, children are left waiting for periods of time before receiving direction from adults. This has an impact on how well children are supported during these times.
• Staff support older children to understand the rules at nursery. For example, the children made rule cards that they refer to during the day, such as reminding each other to use 'kind hands'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff understanding of how to organise the environment and activities to ensure they fully support children's emerging interests
• review how staff are deployed to ensure they respond promptly to children's needs.