Busy Bees Day Nursery at Gravesend

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are confident and relaxed at nursery.

Staff get to know children very well and know their individual likes and dislikes. They have close links with parents to learn how to support children's care effectively. For example, staff have ongoing discussions to ensure they have a clear understanding about how to support children's allergies and nappy changing preferences.

Children behave well and staff are positive role models. Children learn to take turns. For example, older children play a circle game, listen for their name in the song and show off their 'clown' moves.

Staff and children animatedly congra...tulate children on their skill. Children learn about their feelings and those of others. Staff talk to children about their feelings and children explore the expressive faces on masks.

They share examples of what might make people feel emotions, such as 'happy' and 'shocked'. This helps children to identify and understand different feelings, to manage them more effectively. The manager carefully considered the support on offer throughout the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For instance, she kept in contact with all the families registered at the setting and welcomed children from other settings. Families enjoyed taking part in activities and shared information from learning at home. As a result, children seamlessly returned to nursery.

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

The strong management team has a secure knowledge of the staff and quality of the provision. They include staff in sharing the vision of the setting and development plan to focus their continued improvement. Staff share that they feel supported through one-to-one meetings and they are able to seek out guidance if needed.

As a result, staff receive good support, and practice across the nursery is consistently good.Children have an eagerness to take part in activities and have good attitudes towards learning. For example, staff ask children if they want to paint and set up activities for them to take part in.

Children use their small-muscle movements as they paint shapes. However, children have fewer child-led play opportunities to explore around the room to test out and develop their skills further.The promotion of good hygiene practice is consistent across the nursery.

Babies, children and staff regularly wash their hands. Toddlers wipe their noses and confidently put their coats on. Older children can be seen finding their own tissues and carefully placing them in the bin after use.

This contributes to children's positive well-being and independence in self-care.Staff inform parents about children's learning extremely well. For example, they have regular discussions about progress.

They use electronic communication to share achievements observed at home and in the setting. This means parents can have input into next steps in learning, to ensure children maintain good progress. Staff suggest activities to extend learning at home, including sharing specialist resources.

Parents' feedback is highly complementary.Communication and language development are supported well throughout the nursery. Staff animatedly sing with babies and encourage them to join in their favourite songs.

Toddlers have good language modelled to them and learn the correct pronunciation of words. Pre-school children have opportunities for more in-depth discussions and learn to describe and articulate themselves. These skills support children to be prepared for their move onto school.

Staff organise effective transitions for children within the nursery and on to other settings. Children visit the next room for 'settle' sessions. They visit with their key person and become familiar with the routines and new faces.

This ensures that they feel safe and secure as they move to the new environment. However, the support for children as they move between rooms through the teaching of the curriculum is less effective. At times, the sequencing of activities can be aimed too high for children to fully benefit their development.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive good support to meet their needs. Staff precisely assess children's learning and are aware of their development needs. The manager is vigilant in seeking the appropriate support for children.

For example, she works well with the local authority professionals. Consequently, the nursery is fully inclusive and children make good progress in their learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff receive thorough safeguarding training, which gives them a good range of knowledge to help them keep children safe. They know what may give cause for concern about a child in their care and the procedures to follow if they need to take action. Staff are aware of the steps to take to escalate concerns about the conduct of a colleague.

Staff risk assess any potential hazards in the setting effectively. For example, they have a strong knowledge of the concerns linked to babies choking and what to do in the event of an emergency.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nextend child-led play opportunities further for children to embed and test out their skills to consolidate their knowledge develop the sequencing of the curriculum further between rooms to give children more consistent learning opportunities to support their development from the very start.