Busy Bees Day Nursery at Liverpool Childwall

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children thrive at this welcoming and friendly nursery. Staff greet them enthusiastically and children are eager to choose from the array of activities on offer. Babies are calm. They confidently explore the environment and can be seen cradling dolls when singing with staff. Staff are attentive and offer children lots of cuddles and reassurance. This helps children to settle quickly and enjoy their time at nursery. Staff know the children well and are very supportive and encouraging of them. For example, staff praise younger children as they explore puzzles, staying close and offering help when needed. Children are happy and confident, showing high levels of self-esteem.

The manager plans an ambitious curriculum that successfully interests and challenges children to make good progress in their learning across all areas. Staff place a strong focus on developing children's independence from a young age. This helps to prepare children for their future learning, including a smooth transition to school. For example, babies feed themselves with a little help from staff. Younger children wash their hands independently. Older children pour themselves water and serve themselves at mealtimes. This helps children to develop confidence in doing things for themselves.

Staff support children to develop the language needed to express their feelings. For example, pre-school children explore the book 'The Colour Monster'. They are familiar with the story and confidently share their understanding of emotions and feelings. Children are developing strong levels of emotional literacy. Staff are positive role models. They gently support children with their turn-taking skills. Children behave well and develop kind attitudes towards others.

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

• The curriculum considers the needs of the children well. Staff use assessment to identify gaps in children's learning to target their support accordingly. Staff shape their curriculum around children's interests. For instance, the creation of an allotment area in the garden supports the children's curiosity about insects and the natural world. As a result, children deeply engage in meaningful learning activities, sustaining their concentration and good progress.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works effectively in partnership with parents, other agencies and staff. The SENCo ensures referrals are made swiftly and support plans are of high quality and help to narrow gaps in children's learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well and are making good progress.
• Children have ample opportunities to develop both their big and small muscles. For example, babies make marks in flour using their fingers and paintbrushes.
• Older children use trowels and spades to dig and transport soil during messy-play activities. This helps children to develop the muscles in their hands needed for pre-writing. Outside, children develop their larger muscles as they balance and climb. All children gain confidence in their physical skills.
• The manager observes staff teaching and meets regularly with them to offer advice and support. Staff say that they feel supported and are happy in their roles. However, the manager does not monitor the quality of teaching as robustly as possible. Currently, not all staff receive effective support to help develop their practice and interactions with the children.
• The manager places a strong focus on supporting children's communication and language development. Children enjoy singing familiar songs and join in with well-known stories. However, support for children's thinking skills is less well thought out. On occasion, some staff overuse questions during interactions with children. At these times, staff do not develop children's thinking skills effectively.
• Parent partnerships are very strong. There is overwhelming praise for the warmth and communication skills of the staff. Parents are delighted with the care given to their children. Parents receive daily updates, which helps to promote continuity. Additionally, staff regularly invite parents to meetings to share information about their child's learning. Parents and staff work closely together to plan and promote the next steps in their child's learning.
• Children show a positive attitude to learning. They are motivated and demonstrate critical thinking skills. For instance, children concentrate as they pour water down funnels ready to collect in trays. They carefully consider how to do this. After several failed attempts, they discover that they need to put the tray at the bottom on the funnel first. These experiences help children to develop a 'can-do' attitude and recognise when a change in strategy may be needed.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the curriculum for communication and language to promote children's thinking skills
• monitor the quality of education more precisely to help identify where staff need to improve.