Busy Bees, Stotfold

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled at this home-from-home nursery. Staff take time to get to know children and their families well, with a focus on building strong attachments. Leaders and staff greet children and their families warmly and talk to them about the day ahead. As a result of these positive interactions, children feel safe and secure and have a strong sense of belonging.

Staff carefully consider the learning environment and ensure that each area supports children's specific learning needs. The youngest children use low-level furniture to support their early walking skills. Staff provide toddlers with opportunities to develop their motor skills. Children use scoops and jugs as they explore the sand, and staff are on hand to reinforce newly learned vocabulary, such as 'tip' and 'pour'. Staff are positive role models. They take every opportunity to praise children's good behaviour. Staff say, 'Well done for sharing,' and acknowledge when children manage to achieve a personal goal. This supports children's understanding of the behaviours that are expected of them and boosts their self-confidence. Staff spend much of their time playing alongside children, using opportunities to extend children's learning. As children confidently count the number of beads on the abacus, staff introduce more advanced mathematical concepts, such as 'one more' and 'one less'. Positive interactions such as these contribute to children making good progress in their learning.

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

• Leaders are committed to providing high-quality care and enriching learning experiences for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff implement an ambitious curriculum. Learning opportunities are skilfully sequenced to help all children gain new knowledge and continually build on what they already know and can do.
• The support for children with SEND is effective. Staff work closely with designated leaders, parents and other professionals to ensure that children get the support they need. Parents comment that staff go 'above and beyond'. They appreciate the opportunities to attend parenting classes, which help them understand how they can support their children's development at home.
• The daily routine is generally planned well. Staff make good use of some transitions to support children's learning. They build in opportunities for music and movement sessions as well as group time with their key children. However, some parts of the routine are less effectively organised. Occasionally, children spend time sitting and waiting after snack. This results in children becoming distracted, and they miss opportunities to take part in high-quality interactions with staff.
• Staff promote children's communication and language skills well. Each room has a book of the week, and children become familiar with the stories they hear. Staff introduce key words linked to their chosen book and consistently use these words to help extend children's growing vocabulary.
• Staff are skilled at incorporating number and mathematical concepts seamlessly into children's play. As toddlers push the trains around the wooden track, staff introduce them to positional language, such as 'on top' and 'underneath'. Older children are challenged to find shapes according to their properties. They recall previous learning, identifying how many corners and sides each shape has, before being introduced to a new shape. These experiences contribute to children developing a secure understanding of mathematics from an early age.
• Children are beginning to learn about healthy lifestyles and develop some good hygiene routines. They spend quality time in the garden where they climb, run and ride on wheeled toys. Children tell visitors that they need to wash their hands to make them 'nice and clean'. Nose-wiping stations help children to manage their hygiene needs independently. However, occasionally, good hygiene procedures are not always followed. Sometimes, children do not wash their hands before they have food. In addition, staff do not always wash their hands after helping young children to wipe their noses. This does not consistently promote children's good health and potentially increases the spread of germs.
• Partnerships with parents are a key strength of the nursery's practice. Leaders and staff provide a range of opportunities to engage parents in their children's learning. Parents value the time staff take to discuss their children's day and feel well informed about their children's learning. Leaders provide a wealth of information and support to help parents navigate each stage of their child's development. Activity bags are available in the entrance for families to take home and explore. Parents are invited into the setting during special events, such as Mother's Day and the end of year graduation ceremony. Events and opportunities such as these have a positive impact on children's continuous learning and development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• implement strategies to support smoother transitions between activities, to help children to stay engaged and focused at all times
• support staff to consistently adhere to and maintain hygiene routines, to help children to learn healthy practices.