The Hunny Hive Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Babies smile with delight as staff welcome them with open arms. They reach out to the staff for cuddles and reassurance and quickly settle into choosing activities. Older children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure as they confidently approach visitors and invite them to join in with their play. Younger children thoroughly enjoy moving to music as staff focus on promoting their large-muscle skills. Children wave their hands in the air as they hold cheerleader pompoms. Staff model how to crouch down low and reach up high as children move to music.

Children learn to behave well and are eager to learn. Staff consistently motivate children and recognise their positive attitudes. Older children proudly explain to staff that they are resilient and working towards a 'pot of gold' for everyone. Staff further support children's positive attitudes as children explore the outdoors. For example, children find a spider and are encouraged to handle it carefully. Staff explain that the spider likes the children because they are being kind, respectful and gentle.

Older children practise their early mathematics skills as staff challenge them with their learning. For example, children add two more stones to their sandcastles, and the enthusiastic staff provide simple mathematics questions to encourage children's knowledge of early addition.

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

• Staff plan experiences to challenge children and to help them build large-muscle skills. For example, they show older children how to steady themselves with their feet as they ride balance bikes. Staff provide further challenges as they introduce a ramp for children to ride over. Children practise how to stop and balance when they reach the top.
• Staff inspire children's learning, and they observe and build on their ideas. They encourage children's thinking and mathematical knowledge. For example, children are interested in collecting rainwater. Staff help children to count the lines to measure how much water they have collected. They encourage children to use their problem-solving skills to think about how many cups of water they need to fill their containers.
• Staff recognise that children need support to build their muscle skills before they can begin to learn to write. They encourage children to use mark-making tools, such as thick pens and brushes. Children use their fingers to practise taking the lids off thick marker pens and carefully replacing them. They lie down on the floor and learn to move their arms to draw large, sweeping lines on large pieces of cardboard.
• Staff support older children with their communication and language skills. They listen to children and have back-and-forth conversations, introducing new vocabulary. For example, as children look for more rainwater, staff use the word 'evaporate' and explain what it means. However, toddlers do not receive the same level of support. Staff do not always speak slowly or pause conversations to allow toddlers time to think and respond to their questions or help them to join in.
• Staff teach children their expectations for behaviour clearly. They implement a reward system for children's good behaviour, such as planning special events for children to work towards. As a result, children are highly motivated to follow the rules of the nursery and develop positive attitudes to learning.
• Staff teach children to be independent. For example, they support younger children to help themselves to a tissue and to look into the mirror when wiping their own noses. Staff encourage children to pour water from a jug, serve their lunch and use a knife and fork at mealtimes.
• Leaders and managers reflect on staff's practice and are quick to put steps in place to make improvements. Managers observe staff practice and provide individual targets and training. Staff state that they feel well supported by the manager.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery and of the communication they receive from staff. They state the staff help children to become independent and ready for moving on to school. Parents state that staff discuss their children's next steps in learning and provide activity ideas for them to try at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen support for staff to give younger children more time to think and respond and to help younger children's emerging speech and language skills.