Busy Bees Day Nursery at Leicester Carlton Park

Inclusion: Strong standard

Children thrive in this inclusive setting. Leaders and staff have high expectations for all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face barriers to learning. They swiftly recognise when children may need additional support and take consistent and effective steps to ensure all children receive high-quality experiences. Leaders offer support and pertinent training to staff to ensure they have the skills and confidence they need to fulfil their roles.

Leaders and staff work closely with children's families and external agencies, and together they ensure that individual support and learning plans are consistently and successfully implemented. They work hard to ensure that transitions are carefully planned and managed effectively. Careful consideration is given to the use of additional funding. Leaders ensure that this is used purposefully to provide targeted support that meets children's individual needs.

Leaders and staff regularly and meticulously review children's progress. They skilfully tailor and adapt the environment and interventions as children's needs change, making sure that support remains timely and effective. One-to-one support for individual children is in place. Staff know the children they work with extremely well, and children build warm and trusting relationships with them. Children show a strong sense of belonging and enjoyment, and they make sustained progress from their starting points.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff have a clear understanding of what they want children to learn and when. They have developed a broad and well-organised curriculum that reflects children's ages and stages of development. This helps to ensure that all children, including those who may face barriers to their learning, typically develop the skills they need for their future learning. Overall, staff's interactions with children are warm and positive. However, at times, staff do not always implement the curriculum consistently, and the quality of teaching is variable across the nursery. Consequently, there are occasions where children do not always benefit fully from the learning experiences that are offered.

Overall, staff promote children's communication and language development appropriately. All children develop a love of books. Staff regularly read to children and often retell favourite stories. They talk with children as they play and during daily routines. Staff ask older children well-paced and pertinent questions and engage them in some meaningful discussions. However, strategies to support younger children's speaking skills are not as consistently applied.

Staff plan and provide activities that promote children's physical development effectively. Children of all ages regularly access the outdoor play space and take part in activities that support their balance, strength and coordination. Staff support children to complete obstacle courses safely and successfully. They initiate 'stop-and-go' games, encouraging children to move their bodies in different ways, change direction and navigate space. Staff introduce mathematical concepts and language through daily routines and planned activities. They introduce words such as 'big, small, full' and 'empty' as young children explore and use different-sized containers in the sand and water. Staff introduce props, such as puppets, to create fun and engaging counting activities for older children.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face barriers to their learning, are settled, confident and secure in the nursery. Children are developing the skills they need for their future learning and eventual move on to school. Overall, children demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They build positive relationships with staff and each other. Children are eager to join in with group games and activities and are learning to share, take turns and be kind to one another.

Older children are articulate and confidently engage in conversations with staff and their friends. Babies independently choose books that interest them. Children listen well to their favourite stories, read to them by staff. They are becoming independent and confident to attend to their own self-care. From a young age, children help themselves to tissues to wipe their own noses. They sit at the table, pour their own drinks and use cutlery to feed themselves at mealtimes.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders and staff have created a positive and welcoming environment for all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may have barriers to learning, and their families. Children attend regularly and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They settle well, build strong bonds with staff and get on well together. The environment is lively and harmonious, and children show that they enjoy attending. Overall, expectations for behaviour and routines are realistic and clear. However, on occasion, some staff are not as confident in implementing these expectations to ensure they are consistently applied across the nursery and understood by all children.

Staff are positive role models. They support children to learn how to be kind and respectful of others, for example encouraging children to use 'kind hands' and remembering to say please and thank you. Staff offer lots of praise and encouragement. They listen to children, value their contributions and celebrate their achievements, promoting children's self-esteem and confidence. Children show a sense of pride, when explaining that the sticker on their jumper is because they helped to tidy up. Staff are calm and sensitive, when children become upset, providing reassurance and comfort to help them regain control of their emotions. From a young age, children are supported to learn how to keep themselves safe and be independent during daily routines. Toddlers understand that they must hold onto the handrail and take their time as they climb up and down the stairs.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Leaders and staff are aware of the importance of the required policies and procedures needed to support children's safety and wellbeing. However, these are not always implemented consistently. Procedures to ensure children safely exit the bathroom after using it are not fully embedded throughout the nursery. This means staff are not always able to account for children's whereabouts. At times, this compromises children's safety.

A secure key-person system promotes continuity and consistency of care for children. Staff take the time to get to know children and their families. They gather detailed information about children's individual needs and experiences from the start, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Ongoing communication helps to ensure that staff are kept up to date and able to respond appropriately to any changes.

Staff implement effective care practices to promote children's good health. Children benefit from regular movement and exercise in the nursery garden. Appropriate hygiene routines are consistently implemented. Staff are positive role models and lead by example. They encourage and support children to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet. Staff work actively with parents to support children's independence and self-care, promoting toilet training and encouraging a consistent approach. Balanced and varied meals and snacks are prepared on site and provided daily. Staff ensure that children's individual dietary needs are understood and met. Staff understand the importance of safer eating and sleeping practices and ensure that these are consistently followed.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Leaders have managed recent changes, including new leadership roles, positively and with minimal disruption to the day-to-day running of the nursery. Overall, leaders have appropriate oversight of the nursery's strengths and areas for ongoing improvement. Although leaders have taken some action to improve safety procedures and risk assessment when children transition in and out of the bathroom, this needs to be further embedded and monitored so children remain safe and consistently supervised.

Leaders are continuing to work with staff to help them develop their practice and skills through ongoing professional development. For example, leaders hold regular group and one-to-one meetings with staff to offer support and coaching. They identify and provide training opportunities that reflect staff's individual needs. Leaders pay close attention to staff's wellbeing and workloads. Staff confirm that they feel supported and valued by leaders. They are confident to pass on their ideas or concerns.

Leaders and staff together create an inclusive culture so all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to their learning, are successfully supported to make progress from their starting points. They understand the importance of working with parents and other agencies and work closely with them to support children's education and care. Parents comment that their children are happy and settled at nursery. They value face-to-face handovers with their children's key persons and the access they have to information on the online app.