Busy Bees Day Nursery at Ilford

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The management team is experienced, extremely knowledgeable and provides the highest quality of care for all the children. Children arrive happy, eager and keen to start their day. The nursery has a friendly, welcoming feel, and staff work closely with the on-site hospital to accommodate parents' working patterns. The nursery is an integral part of the hospital community and supports the hospital charity. This helps children to learn about helping others.

Staff forge strong relationships with children and their families. They have in-depth knowledge and understanding of children's interests and specific needs, which they use to shape the programme for learning. Staff focus on children gaining independent skills and confidence, which helps to ensure they are well prepared for starting school. Staff include children in every aspect of nursery life. For example, children help to do a daily safety check, and they have their own register that they use alongside the staff. A free-flow system is fully embedded, and children freely move from room to room and engage in a range of activities inside and out. Children behave exceptionally well. Staff are superb role models for the children.

Parents are delighted that the nursery is so inclusive and focuses on the individual needs of their children. Families receive a very warm welcome and are actively encouraged to help with their child's development. Strong relationships and trust underpin the nursery's clear approach to working in partnership with families.

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

• The manager possesses a clear vision and drive to provide the highest quality of education and care. She has ambitious aspirations for children and staff, such as expanding the lending library experience for children. Leaders regularly observe the quality of teaching and provide purposeful feedback to staff. Leaders meet with staff to discuss their professional development needs. Training is prioritised to meet the needs of staff and children. Staff well-being is of paramount importance, and staff comment that managers are always available and supportive.
• The manager and the staff are passionate about the service that they offer. They have worked exceptionally hard to implement an ambitious curriculum. Learning is coherently sequenced through the child-led curriculum. Staff know what to teach children. They skilfully reinforce learning through play and daily routines. For example, children retell a familiar story using props and sequence cards. Staff encourage them to think, and they ask challenging, open questions, such as why does the goat have horns? Children are keen to predict what happens next in the story, and they work very well together.
• Staff go over and above to secure timely interventions and target support for individual children at the earliest opportunity, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This contributes to the rapid and substantial progress that all children make over short periods of time. For example, staff successfully implement a targeted communication programme for children with speech delay.
• Staff provide children with a rich set of experiences to learn about others. Children enjoy learning words in languages that are important to other children or staff. This helps all children to feel included and actively promotes their communication and language development. Parents are involved in various cultural events throughout the year, planned around the children's own cultures.
• Staff encourage children's independence skills and help them learn how to take care of themselves. For example, children help set up and clear away at mealtimes. Staff are particularly sensitive when children are undergoing changes, such as toilet training. They work in close partnership with parents to achieve this goal. Children enjoy being outside in the spacious gardens and have plenty of opportunities to be physically active. Staff take every opportunity to extend children's learning. For example, staff in the garden play a game with the children to help them learn about road safety.
• Partnerships with parents are incredible. Parents feel highly supported. They can access a range of resources, books and advice from the nursery. Staff have set up a clothing exchange, which parents frequently use. Staff create activities for home learning and provide parents with regular updates on their child's learning. Parents are provided with curriculum guides for each room to help them understand what their children are learning.