Little Bees at Acton Green

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are at the heart of everything that this nursery does. Leaders and staff have the highest aspirations for all children. They have created a highly ambitious curriculum that is implemented extremely well by staff and embedded securely. As such, children are extremely motivated across the vibrant, highly stimulating language-rich learning environment, where teaching is fully embedded to help children rapidly build on what they already know and can do. This helps all children, including the most able and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to have a positive attitude to learning and achieve the best possible outcomes from their unique starting points.

Staff carefully consider how their plans support children's excellent progression. Babies have plenty of space to crawl and stretch. They pull themselves to standing at the low furniture, determined to see what they can find. Toddlers master stepping and standing as they walk across the balance blocks. Older children develop the small muscles in their hands as they prepare fruit kebabs. These opportunities help children to make excellent progress in their physical development, preparing them for later learning.

Children show high levels of respect and consideration towards each other. Staff mimic these expectations of children's behaviour through their abundance of sensitive interactions. As such, children's behaviour is highly impressive. For instance, older children help their friends without prompting and pass them their cutlery at mealtimes.

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

• Staff deployment is excellent, and their high-quality interactions help each child to succeed. They seamlessly play alongside the children. Staff use their observations of what children know and can do to provide motivational and challenging experiences. For instance, children concentrate intently and recall the stories from their learning projects. Staff stretch children's language skills consistently through well-planned activities and in children's chosen play. For example, toddlers are in awe as they squeeze cornflour in their hands. Staff use simple words, such as 'dab, dab', as they mimic their own hands in the sensory activity. Older children's vocabulary is inspiring. For instance, they confidently recall the sequence of core stories linked to their project. This helps children further broaden their already extensive vocabulary.
• Staff develop children's understanding of excellent hygiene practices. Mealtimes are sociable events and children learn to be independent and gain self-care skills, such as washing their hands before eating and feeding themselves. Young children use the well-placed mirrors as they clean their faces and place the tissue in the pedal bins. This helps children build healthy habits for later life.
• Children with SEND receive exceptional individualised support to enable them to have the best experiences. Staff quickly identify any delay in development. Leaders and staff work seamlessly with parents and outside agencies to get children the help they need. External professionals regularly visit the nursery to provide staff with strategies to help children make the best possible progress.
• Staff place a strong emphasis on children's behaviour and emotional well-being. Children learn to recognise, name and understand their emotions through story times, activities and interactions. For example, children learn the concept of a surprised face as they open their mouths and place their hands in the air. This helps children to understand their emotions from a young age, further promoting their outstanding behaviour.
• Parents are extremely complimentary about the nursery. They say that their children's language has 'exploded' since being at the nursery. Staff have developed tremendous relationships with the families. They communicate daily with parents and provide them with ideas to continue their children's learning and experiences at home. This provides children with continuity for their ongoing development.
• Leaders and staff of the setting are highly qualified. They are present and promote a reflective culture that drives continuous improvement across the nursery. All staff report that they feel valued and supported extremely well within their roles. Leaders ensure that staff receive daily coaching and mentoring. This contributes to a highly experienced and consistent staff team. Staff are empowered through their ongoing training to provide the highest quality of care and education to each child.
• All staff are highly trained and have an impressive understanding of their role in protecting children. They have excellent knowledge of how to identify potential signs of abuse and the procedures they would use to report any concerns for a child's welfare. Children's well-being and safety are paramount. Risk assessments are embedded in practice, which ensures that the nursery and forest school trips are safe for children to play in. Furthermore, staff teach children about staying safe. For example, children learn how to use small knives safely as they prepare nutritious fruit kebabs. Furthermore, staff teach children the importance of online safety. This helps children learn how to keep themselves safe from a young age.