Busy Bees@Maidenhead

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly greeted by staff. They separate from their parents with ease and even the young babies settle swiftly. Babies' individual needs are sensitively supported and their care routines from home are acknowledged and followed. Babies have close relationships with the adults who care for them. They enjoy many sensory experiences such as exploring flour and sand play. Babies sit comfortably with staff and together they grasp and handle various tools. This supports their emotional and physical development and helps them to feel safe and secure.

Children enjoy a range of activities that interest and excite them. For example, in the pre-school room, children are eager to learn about and observe exploding volcanoes. They delight as the colour liquid reacts and begins to bubble and froth. Children behave well and follow staff's instructions. They show a good understanding of the routine at nursery. Children's physical skills are supported well as they run, balance and climb on the outdoor equipment. They are eager to use various wooden planks and blocks to make their own obstacles. Overall, children make good progress in preparation for their next stage, including their move to school.

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

• Recent changes in the leadership structure, and support from the provider's management team, have made positive improvements. Changes have been made to ensure staff supervise children effectively so that children can have fun playing and learning in a safe environment. Leaders have a clear vision for the nursery. They are keen to make further changes that have a positive impact on the children's development, such as refurbishing the nursery garden to offer more experiences for children to explore outside.
• Overall, staff plan a broad curriculum to support children's interests and development. Children benefit from a language-rich environment. All staff engage with the children and talk to them about what they are doing. Some staff demonstrate stronger teaching techniques as they deliver small-group activities. They focus on children's listening and attention skills, and create awe and wonder as they explore new concepts. However, not all staff are clear about what it is they want children to learn, or consider how they can sequence and provide even greater levels of challenge.
• Staff encourage children to enjoy books throughout the nursery. Children listen to favourite stories, anticipating and predicting what happens next. They know and remember words and associated actions to familiar songs.
• Children are curious and motivated learners. Children's behaviour is good, and they understand what is expected of them in the nursery. They are supported to play cooperatively together, share and take turns. Older children show good manners, with occasional reminders to say 'please' and 'thank you'.
• Staff support children's physical development well. Children enjoy fresh air and exercise, and love to explore the outdoors. Babies have access to an area which has been planned to support areas of their development. Children scoop mud into pots and enjoy throwing balls into buckets. They take it in turns to ride bicycles. Throughout the setting, children are given lots of opportunities to manipulate a variety of textures such as paint, play dough, sand and water. Children are adept at pouring and refiling and moulding various media into different shapes and patterns.
• Staff work well in partnership with parents. Parents have good opportunities to discuss their children's learning and progress. They have access to a wide range of information. This includes information via an online application and daily opportunities for verbal updates.
• Leaders have a good understanding of what the setting does well and what it needs to improve. Overall, they observe and evaluate staff practice to support the quality of teaching. Staff benefit from regular staff meetings and feel supported in their professional development. However, leaders have not fully implemented and embedded ways to monitor the impact of staff training, to build upon and sustain the quality of staff's wider knowledge and practice.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's knowledge of the curriculum intent to ensure it is reflective of all children's needs, and builds on children's learning to provide greater levels of challenge
• continue to make greater use of supervision, support and coaching to ensure all staff fulfil their roles and responsibilities and understand training, particularly with regard to the 'Prevent' duty.