Busy Bees Day Nursery at Croydon

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive eager to start their day at the nursery. They have secure bonds with staff, which helps them to settle quickly and feel safe. Parents explain that during the recent lockdowns, their children were eager to get back to the nursery to play and learn.

Staff are skilled in teaching children new words and what they mean. During the inspection, children thoroughly enjoy 'bucket-time' learning. They squeal with delight and eagerly count, waiting for the toy to jump up in the air.

This also helps to promote children's emerging mathematical development. Older children learn how to record their voices on a recorde...r as they learn about senses. They listen back to what they have recorded.

This helps children to hear different sounds and allows them to learn how technology works. Babies enjoy learning new skills, such as building with large blocks. They work well together, adding more bricks until it topples, leaving them giggling with excitement.

Staff use simple descriptive language and help children to learn new words. For example, they say 'taller, bigger' and 'smaller' to challenge children to develop their emerging language. Staff are more alert to the cause of changes in children's behaviour.

They adapt activities to meet children's individual needs, which helps to bring about positive changes to their behaviour.

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

Staff do not consistently encourage quieter children to join in activities. Some children sit on the outskirts of activities as the more confident children answer the questions being asked.

This does not consistently encourage quieter children to gain the confidence to speak out during group activities.Staff are confident to report any safeguarding concerns and issues to the relevant agencies. Head office staff work with leaders to develop a culture where staff feel confident expressing their views to improve practice in the nursery.

Staff do not plan and organise some transition times effectively, such as when setting up and when children move between activities. Children are left waiting at times, reducing their learning and playing opportunities.The support provided to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a key strength in the nursery.

Staff work closely with parents to make sure that they are able to meet children's individual needs. Staff attend regular meetings with other agencies and parents to ensure that the targets set for children are effective. Children make significant progress from their starting points in learning.

School-aged children are prepared well to start their journey to school. Staff teach children to write their names. Children can also recognise numbers and the amounts they represent.

Staff teach children to recognise the differences between upper and lower case letters and when they need to be used. This helps to support children's literacy development.Leaders make sure that staff are fully aware of the intent for the curriculum and, overall, they implement this well.

Staff use children's next steps in learning, alongside areas leaders have identified that need extra support, to plan effective activities. This helps staff to progress children's learning.Parents say that their children are more confident now they attend the nursery.

They feel that their children are making good progress with their learning. Parents feel safe leaving their children at the nursery. They comment that the care plans staff and head office carry out, help them to feel secure as they know there are plans in place to support their children.

Parents say staff have made sure that their children are ready to move on to school and are no longer anxious about this.Leaders work well with staff to identify any training needs to help them improve practice. Leaders monitor the training that staff undertake.

They support staff with the planning of activities and help them with their qualifications, to enhance outcomes for children

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a clear understanding of the nursery's safeguarding procedures. They are fully aware of signs and symptoms of child abuse and know who to report their concerns too.

Staff are alert to the changes in children's behaviour. They work with leaders and parents to keep children safe. Leaders work with staff to improve their knowledge of how to manage children's behaviour.

For example, they teach staff to identify the reasons behind children's behaviour and how to support them with this. This helps to keep children safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to to identify the more quieter children to make sure that they have the same learning experiences as the more confident children plan transition times more effectively to reduce children's waiting times and to increase their learning opportunities.