The Hunny Hive Kibworth Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children's joy at being in the nursery is plain to see. Babies use their sensory exploratory instinct and discover textures. They use kitchen utensils to create pictures with edible 'paint'. Toddlers use their fine-motor skills to cut and explore citrus fruits. Staff extend this activity and ask children to smell the fruit and use their muscles to squeeze out the juice. Pre-school children explore capacity and numbers as they investigate water beads and a wealth of other resources. Staff encourage children to count out the beads and match the amount they have counted to the corresponding numeral. Children show remarkable levels of concentration when taking part in activities of their choice.

Children demonstrate good levels of independence. Staff challenge and encourage them to do as much for themselves as they can. Pre-school children are supported to learn the skills they need to be well-prepared for school. Staff encourage them to serve their own meal and help them learn how to use trays. Children have a strong understanding of the nursery rules. These include for children to be 'a responsible bee and resilient tortoise'. Children strive to get their behaviour peg onto the rainbow. When they achieve this they get to dip in to a reward box to retrieve a reward, such as bubbles.

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

• The extremely dedicated leadership team show superb knowledge and understanding of children's learning and development. They have devised a curriculum that is highly effective in making sure children learn the skills they need for future learning. Staff use the curriculum to plan and implement activities which support children to build on the skills that they already know and can do.
• The management team recognise the importance of valuing staff well-being. For example, staff enjoy 'pay-day treats' as well as recognition awards, such as employee of the month. All staff say they enjoy working here and feel exceptionally valued.
• Staff engage children in meaningful tasks. For instance, children are given responsibilities and assigned roles for the day, such as recycling monitor, well-being monitor, garden monitor and tidy-up monitor. This empowers children to make a difference and supports them to adopt a high level of respect, care and consideration for the nursery, their friends and the world around them.
• Children understand that people may speak different languages, and they show an interest in learning key words. Children confidently say hello at circle time to staff and their peers in a range of languages.
• Staff place a strong emphasis on supporting children's literacy skills. They read to children with enthusiasm and excitement. Stories are interactive as toddlers pretend to use a telescope to look for the 'shark'. They listen with interest and join in with great enthusiasm with the sentences they recognise. Staff use this interest to extend children's knowledge even further by explaining that some words sound the same and are rhyming words, for example shark and park.
• Children learn the value of superb behaviour and how this can contribute to rewards and treats. Staff highlight children's exceptional behaviour by placing money in a jar, which goes towards a treat of the children's choice. Toddlers and pre-school children thoroughly relish the opportunity to enjoy playing on the bouncy castle, that was hired using the money they earned.
• Staff place high priority on introducing a healthy lifestyle for children of all ages. Each day, all children begin their mornings with a physically challenging 'shake' session. Babies listen to popular music and interact with ribbons and bubbles. Pre-school children follow action rhymes and sing at the top of their voices. Children are learning to recognise the impact that exercise has on the bodies. At the end of the session, children comment they need to drink water so they do not dehydrate.
• The management team are passionate about ensuring children receive opportunities above and beyond those they may not ordinarily experience. Each term children take part in 'enrichment activities'. This term, the toddlers and pre-school children have been attending bike academy where they are supported to learn how to balance on a bike and eventually ride a bike without stabilisers. Passed enrichment activities include cookery school, mini first-aid course and golf academy.