Busy Little Bees Nursery (Shirley) Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide children with a safe and stimulating environment. They organise an extensive range of high-quality natural resources that ignite children's curiosity and investigative skills. Staff plan exciting activities, both indoors and outdoors, which link to children's next steps and interests. For example, indoors, children mix paints to explore colour. Outdoors, they investigate capacity using a cauldron, ladles and 'potion' pots. These activities captivate children's interest and lead to high levels of engagement in learning. Staff observe children closely and get to know them well. They value children's ideas and home experiences. For example, one family's visit to a zoo inspires a zoo learning theme in the babies' room. This makes learning meaningful and memorable for children.

Children benefit from a broad curriculum that includes enrichment activities to further enhance learning. For example, children observe and care for hatching chicks, they communicate with pen pals in Devon and they visit the local library, forest school and farm. These opportunities help children to learn more about where they live, the wider world and their place within it. Staff support children's emotional and social development well. They focus on naming and talking about emotions using books and soft toys. Staff encourage children to share, be kind and have empathy for others. This means that when conflicts occur, children try to resolve them without adult support.

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

• Staff know what key knowledge and skills they want children to learn next. However, learning intentions for activities are not always implemented precisely enough. This may prevent children from making the best possible progress.
• Developing children's vocabulary is a priority for staff. Staff introduce and model new language during play and daily routines. For example, staff repeat words such as 'tractor' to babies, and pre-school children learn words such as 'trowel'. This helps children to expand their vocabulary.
• Staff interact skilfully with children to build and extend their language and learning. For example, they talk with children about their interests and support them to develop their ideas. However, at times, staff do not fully involve those children most in need of these quality interactions. This may impact on the engagement and progress of these children.
• Staff actively involve parents in the setting. They welcome parents into the setting daily and for special events, such as workshops, celebration days and training opportunities. This promotes positive relationships between children, parents and staff and helps children to feel safe and secure.
• Staff provide children with lots of opportunities to progress their physical development. For example, toddlers make marks and patterns using paint brushes in shaving foam, and pre-school children roll, press and squeeze play dough to make creations. This supports their fine motor development. Outside, children use ride on toys, crawl through tunnels and balance on raised beams and stepping stones. This supports the development of their gross motor skills, spatial awareness and coordination skills.
• Staff plan for children to become increasingly independent as they move through the setting. For example, at lunchtime, babies find their own chair and learn to feed themselves, and toddlers serve their own lunch. This helps children to be able to look after their own care needs and acquire the skills they need for future transitions.
• Children learn about a wide range of cultures and beliefs. Staff plan activities and provide resources that reflect diverse cultures. For example, parents come into the setting to share their unique cultures, and children's family photos are on display. This ensures that children learn about different people and promotes a sense of identity and belonging.
• Leadership and management of the setting are strong. Leaders and managers assess the strengths and areas for development within the setting, and they strive to constantly improve the quality of the provision. Staff access a wide range of training and professional development opportunities, which impact positively on children's well-being, learning and development.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Staff swiftly identify children in need of additional support and put in place strategies to support them. Staff foster close relationships with parents and external agencies to ensure that children receive the specialist support they need.
• Parents speak extremely positively about the setting. They praise the staff for the relationships they make with their children and the support they offer families. They feel their children are happy at the setting and make good progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to implement the curriculum intentions more precisely to build on children's existing knowledge and skills
• ensure that staff include all children in their interactions to fully support children's learning and development.