Busy Bees Day Nursery at Hempstead

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are eager and happy to attend this welcoming and friendly nursery. The staff team provides meaningful and interesting experiences that excite and motivate children to play and explore. Staff carefully consider the children's interests and development during all activities. Children show they have developed meaningful and close attachments to staff. For instance, in the baby room, children will hold their arms out for cuddles from their key person when they need reassurance. This supports children's well-being and happiness.

The curriculum builds sequentially as children progress through the nursery. For example, the baby and toddler rooms currently have a focus on children's communication and language development and their personal, social and emotional needs. In the pre-school room, the curriculum then further builds on children's independence and self-help skills, preparing them for their eventual transition to school. Stories, reading and singing are an integral part of the curriculum for the younger children. The impact of this is evident as children in pre-school independently play with small-world resources, retelling stories and phrases from well-known books. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported across the setting. The staff meet regularly with other professionals to support children in bridging gaps in their learning and to further support the staff's professional development.

Children behave well. The staff give children consistent messages and support regarding managing their own behaviour and how this may impact on others. Older children are involved in making rules. For instance, when new climbing equipment was introduced, they thought about how they could keep each other safe. The children support each other to remember and adhere to the rules they have created.

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

• The provider is committed to providing quality care and education for children and their families. The staff have a shared vision for the future of the nursery and are skilled and reflective at highlighting areas for improvement. For example, recent changes to the environment in the toddler room have positively impacted on children showing sustained concentration at activities. Furthermore, the provider has a passion for ensuring staff's well-being. There are plenty of opportunities for staff to undertake further training to support them in their role.
• Generally, the curriculum is broad and covers all areas of learning. Staff know the children well and build on what they know and can do through the carefully planned environments and experiences that are on offer. For example, the curriculum for communication and language is a strength of the nursery.
• Children benefit from engaging back-and-forth conversations with staff and their friends. Furthermore, staff ask relevant and open-ended questions to encourage children to share their thoughts and ideas. However, the opportunities for children to develop their mathematical skills past counting are limited, and staff do not consistently challenge and extend children's understanding in this area.
• Staff help children to develop the skills they need for the future, including independence. This is well embedded throughout the nursery. For example, babies sit together to eat their lunch. The staff support children who are ready to feed themselves by using encouragement and modelling what to do with spoons. Across the setting, staff consistently recognise and provide praise for children who persevere to do things for themselves. This supports children's emotional development and well-being.
• Support for children with SEND is good. Children are quickly identified by staff due to their secure understanding of child development and effective tracking and monitoring processes. Additional funding is used well across the nursery. For example, the nursery has purchased story sacks with books and props to support children's language development.
• Children build on their physical skills through various learning opportunities. Babies enjoy exploring building blocks and sensory resources, which encourages their fine motor skills. Older children enthusiastically engage in assault courses and learn to pedal bicycles. However, the baby room provides fewer opportunities for children to strengthen and embed their gross motor skills.
• The setting has secure relationships with parents and carers. Settling-in routines are a strength of the nursery. They are planned based on the needs of the children and their families. Information is exchanged to ensure the setting can meet the children's individual needs. For example, staff obtain information regarding how children like to be settled to sleep and what comforters they use so they can mirror children's routines from home. Furthermore, staff obtain information such as children's home languages, cultures, faiths and religions. They use this information to further develop their curriculum and ensure that all children are celebrated and resources reflect their home customs. Information is regularly shared to enable parents to continue and build on learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• create a more challenging and ambitious mathematics curriculum to deepen children's knowledge and understanding of a range of mathematical concepts that are appropriate to their age and stage of development
• develop the learning environment for babies, to focus more closely on promoting their physical development.