Busy Bees Mill Hill @ Deansbrook

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children arrive at this holiday club excited for the day ahead.

Staff warmly welcome children and swiftly support them to choose an activity to engage with. Children describe to visitors how they feel happy, safe and secure at the club. They explain how they have developed strong bonds with the staff who look after them.

Staff involve children in shaping the club. They reflect on children's ideas and interests in the environment. Staff have high expectations of the children who attend.

They share these expectations clearly to children throughout their day. Children demonstrate respect for one another and the staff... who care for them. They consistently display positive attitudes, and show resilience and motivation in their play.

Staff know how to manage challenging behaviour and have excellent behaviour management strategies in place. For example, they encourage children to talk through their feelings and emotions, and provide children with strategies to manage these independently. Children consistently demonstrate high levels of self-esteem and confidence at the setting.

The setting remained open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders have good understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on children. They have adapted activities and routines to help children recover from the impact.

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

Leaders have developed professional relationships with a range of agencies and organisations. This joined-up working means that children receive expert support during their time at the club. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported extremely well.

Staff plan a range of stimulating activities to meet their individual needs.Children are encouraged to be independent and resilient. Staff support children to work things out and realise their ideas.

For example, children design boats at the junk modelling table. They confidently describe their plans and designs to the staff working with them. Children ask staff for help when they need it.

Staff teach children the skills which they need to create the effects that they want independently. They extend the activity by introducing a water tray, so that children can test out their boat designs to see if they sink or float.Children have numerous opportunities to be active and can expend their energy in a variety of ways.

For example, children enjoy taking part in group sports, such as football and badminton. They develop imaginative games while navigating the wooden adventure play apparatus. Children enjoy skateboarding, riding scooters and bikes.

Children enjoy being physically active and choose to take part in physical games independently.Staff teach children how to manage their own risks. For example, children ask staff if they can harvest blackberries from the garden.

Staff explain clearly how they need to keep themselves safe around the thorns on the plants. Children demonstrate their understanding as they take precautions while picking the fruit. During the activity, children recall that they made blackberry pies last year, stating 'that was the best blackberry pie we've ever had.'

Staff celebrate children's uniqueness by following their interests and fascinations. For example, children enjoy practising magic tricks and showing these to their friends. Other children have mastered puzzle cubes and are developing their snooker skills.

Children receive lots of support and encouragement from the caring staff, who know them very well. Children are confident. They display high levels of self-esteem and motivation throughout their day.

Parents are extremely happy with the service provided. Parents describe the staff as 'always caring, organised and friendly'. They report that their children are thriving at the setting and are very well supported.

Parents appreciate the emails and texts which they receive, and feel very well informed.Staff enjoy coming to work and feel incredibly supported by the leadership team. They have supervision and appraisal arrangements in place.

Staff benefit from regular meetings to share ideas, information and identify areas for improvement. Staff's professional development continued and they accessed training throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have an excellent understanding of the signs and symptoms of abuse. They know how to identify a child at risk of harm and what to do with that information. Staff have a good understanding of a range of safeguarding issues.

The designated safeguarding lead has completed appropriate level 3 training. Staff attend safeguarding training regularly to ensure that their knowledge is kept up to date. Staff deployment ensures that children are supervised effectively.

Staff use thorough risk assessments, which are updated regularly to keep children safe from harm. Leaders ensure that staff working with children are suitable. Staff have relevant first-aid training.

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