Mini Bees Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff at the nursery have high expectations of children's behaviour. They promote children's sense of responsibility by giving them individual tasks. Children learn to moderate their own behaviour. They feel proud of themselves as they complete special jobs for others, such as making salad for their friends. Children feel happy and behave well. They learn clear messages about how their behaviour impacts on others.

Staff teach children about personal safety. For example, they demonstrate to children how to stay safe on the road from cyclists and cars. Staff reinforce children's understanding through activities and discussions about everyday hazards. Staff involve children in carrying out risk assessments of the nursery. Children feel safe. They understand how to identify danger and protect themselves. This supports children's physical and emotional security.

Staff share a clear intent for the curriculum. They support children to apply their new knowledge and skills through a variety of activities. Staff skilfully support children's language development, such as by introducing challenging new vocabulary. Staff speak clearly, and repeat and reinforce new language. Children understand increasingly complex sentences. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to express their needs. All children develop fluency and self-confidence as they partake in back-and-forth conversations.

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

• Staff create a curriculum based around an enjoyment of reading. They use books to spark children's imaginations, encourage their creativity and promote communication for all children. Staff create challenging activities that enhance children's skills and knowledge. Children are well prepared for the next stage of their education, including school.
• Staff skilfully identify children's starting points in development. They robustly track children's progress to identify any gaps in their learning. Staff recognise children who need additional support to reach their milestones. This helps all children to make good progress in their learning.
• Overall, teaching across the nursery is strong. However, on occasion, staff do not always adapt their teaching to support children to focus. For example, they do not consistently recognise when children lose concentration.
• Leaders create a curriculum with communication and language at its core. They train staff to use high-quality interactions with children. Staff teach children ambitious new language through role play, stories and songs. Children become increasingly confident at speaking. Staff teach children who speak English as an additional language key vocabulary. All children develop fluency and express themselves with confidence.
• On the whole, staff work together to support children's learning. However, at times, staff do not consistently work together when supporting those children who struggle to start at an activity without help. For example, when moving between activities, some children do not receive the support they need to make choices or engage in play activities.
• Staff teach children to gain independence. They role model to children how to wash their hands and prepare food. Babies learn to feed themselves and tidy away their plates. All children gain a sense of achievement from doing things for themselves and others. Children develop their emotional well-being well.
• Leaders and staff create strong parent partnerships. For example, they invite parents regularly into the nursery to share children's learning on special days. Parents say that staff give them regular feedback on what their children know and can do. They report that this helps them to extend their children's learning at home.
• Leaders work in partnership with external agencies to support children's learning. For example, they regularly seek guidance, training and advice from local speech therapists. This helps all staff to understand how to support children's speaking and listening skills. All children, including children with SEND, gain good communication skills.
• Leaders organise regular supervision sessions with staff. They create opportunities for staff to share any issues or concerns. Leaders organise continuous professional development opportunities linked to children's needs. This helps the teaching skills of all staff to continue to develop over time.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on how staff adapt activities to support all children to focus and concentrate at the highest levels
• develop further how all children are supported to select activities independently and engage in their play.