Busy Bees Day Nursery at Greenwich

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children, including those who receive additional funding, make good progress from their starting points in learning. They are happy, confident and self-assured. Babies have settled well in the nursery and form secure bonds with staff. They move around competently in the well-organised and stimulating learning areas, exploring toys and building on their curiosity. Children keep themselves busy and use every opportunity to engage in meaningful play and learning. For instance, younger children look at pictures in books while waiting for their lunch. Older children enjoy digging up soil and planting vegetables while playing outside. Children who learn best outside are given numerous opportunities to follow their interests. The routine and structure of the day enable children to spend a significant amount of time outdoors to explore, investigate and learn through play. Leaders and staff are ambitious and set high expectations for all children's learning. They provide a challenging and inclusive curriculum to support all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children with SEND benefit from a lot of sensory play and one-to-one teaching to help close any gaps in their learning. Children feel safe, secure and behave well for their age.

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

• Leaders and staff have a strong drive to improve, and are reflective in the ongoing evaluation of the nursery. They have made changes and worked closely with the local authority early years advisers to address actions raised at their last inspection. This has helped to raise standards and improve the quality of education to a good level.
• The experienced and well-qualified staff use their knowledge and skills well. They provide a stimulating and vibrant learning environment to capture children's interests. In addition, staff interact effectively with children to help to challenge and extend their learning. Teaching is tailored to children's individual needs and stages of development. As a result, children of different ages and abilities are eager to play and learn. Children gain essential skills for their next stage of learning, including starting school.
• Supervision and training arrangements to monitor staff practice are effective. Staff benefit from good training opportunities and mentoring to help them extend and develop their skills. Staff have well-being sessions to discuss their workload, career progression and any other issues that could help them to carry out their duties effectively.
• Children display good levels of emotional development. Staff use their expert knowledge of behaviour management well to help children to learn. They teach older children to understand different emotions, such as how to control their emotions and manage difficult situations. In addition, staff form positive relationships with children and offer lots of praise to boost children's self- esteem. This builds successfully on children's self-confidence and independence.
• Overall, the staff provide a well-designed curriculum to prepare children well for life in modern Britain. They encourage children who speak other languages to speak these in the setting. In addition, they celebrate different festivals with the children to develop their awareness of other cultures and religions. However, the staff have not successfully explored how they can use the diverse backgrounds of children who attend the setting, and the community they serve, to heighten children's understanding of equality and diversity.
• Leaders and staff have a good knowledge of children's abilities and next steps in learning. They use observations and assessment effectively to monitor the progress of individuals and groups of children. They are able to identify gaps in learning quickly and put measures in place to help children who are falling behind to catch up with their peers.
• Overall, staff share regular information with parents to keep them informed about children's care routines and learning. For example, they use the 'parents zone' app and newsletters to share upcoming events and activities with parents. However, the information shared with parents is not specific enough to support individual children's next steps, in order to move them forward in their learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• make greater use of children's individual backgrounds and the community to deepen children's knowledge and understanding of equality and diversity
• build further on the established systems for sharing information with parents to help them become actively involved in their children's learning.