Busy Bees Day Nursery at St Albans Hospital

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children at this nursery arrive happy and excited to be there. They wave through the window at staff waiting to greet them. Staff provide a variety of activities and experiences for the children to choose from. For example, babies smile and laugh while playing peek-a-boo in a mirror, and toddlers pour lentils from one container to another as they practise their fine motor skills in preparation for learning how to pour their own drinks. Older children develop their larger muscles as they learn to balance on the beams in an obstacle course.

The provider's curriculum is well designed to support children's personal, social and emotional development. Older children work collaboratively with a variety of bricks and materials to build their ideal home. When children show disappointment that their ideas were not chosen, staff support them to regulate their emotions and talk through how they are feeling.

Staff support children to have a love of books and early reading. Babies crawl onto the laps of staff to look at books. Younger children explore their favourite story while searching for the fruit and insects hidden in the sand tray. Staff encourage the children to repeat the familiar words from the story, which helps them to build their vocabulary.

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

• The provider has a clear focus on developing children's communication and language skills. Staff encourage children to practise words that they already know as well as introducing new vocabulary. For example, while playing at an activity with props from the story of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar,' children are encouraged to identify and name 'butterfly' and 'caterpillar'. Staff then introduce the word 'chrysalis' to children, giving them the time to repeat the more complicated word.
• Staff have a good understanding of what their key children already know and what they need to do next. They plan activities that they know children will enjoy. However, staff are not always clear about exactly what they want children to learn from them. This means at times children lose interest and move on to something else.
• Interactions between staff and children are strong. Staff ask questions to encourage children's critical thinking. For example, older children discuss the similarities and differences between the stones they find in a treasure chest.
• Staff prioritise children's physical development. Babies are encouraged to pull themselves up to reach for the bricks that are just out of reach, which encourages core strength. Toddlers are encouraged to turn the pages of a book, and older children use an obstacle course outside, which helps them learn to balance.
• In general, children's behaviour is good. Older children share and take turns without adult support, and younger children sit alongside each other sharing a book. However, at times, staff do not manage children's behaviour in a consistent way, so children do not always understand what is expected of them.
• All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting points. Leaders are persistent in getting support for children who need it. They work well with outside agencies and other professionals.
• Parents are very happy with the care their children receive at the nursery. They appreciate the settling-in process that considers both the children and the needs of the parents. They feel well informed, know what their children have been doing, what the setting wants them to be able to do and how they can support their child at home. Parents are particularly grateful for the emotional support that children are given when there have been changes to their circumstances at home.
• Staff sit with children while they enjoy a freshly cooked lunch. Younger children are supported to use their cutlery successfully. Older children take responsibility for scraping their plates when they have finished and putting them away. This supports children to develop their self-help skills.
• Leaders know their staff well and know what training they need to provide to strengthen the delivery of the curriculum.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support the staff team in strengthening the delivery of the planned curriculum so that they know exactly what they want all children to learn
• support the staff team to have a clear understanding of the behaviour management strategies in place so that they are consistently implemented across the whole setting.