Busy Bees Day Nursery at Northampton, Riverside

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children and staff form strong bonds in this welcoming nursery.

In the baby room, children separate from their parents and hold out their arms as they are greeted by their key person when they enter the room. Older children hang up their coats and confidently make their way to their group rooms. Children enjoy exploring the safe and stimulating learning environment.

Staff set out resources to help children make independent choices about their play. They get to know children well and set up activities linked to their interests. However, staff do not use what they know about children's development to carefully plan activiti...es and tailor their ongoing support during general play and daily routines.

Less confident children are sometimes missed and not consistently supported by staff. The coaching and support provided for staff does not target specific gaps in their knowledge and weaknesses in their teaching practice. Nevertheless, staff have high expectations for behaviour, and children are kind and behave well.

Staff provide age-appropriate strategies and encouragement, where necessary, to help children learn about sharing and turn-taking. Children are encouraged to be independent and learn to manage their self-care needs. They visit the 'independence station' to collect tissues and help themselves with drinks throughout the day.

Children enjoy looking at books with staff and understand simple questions and instructions.

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

Staff are knowledgeable about children. They describe their stage of development, interests, likes and dislikes in detail.

However, they plan activities that children will enjoy based on their interests rather than their next steps in learning. Consequently, they do not always focus on what children need to learn next. As a result, staff do not consistently support children to make good progress in their development.

Staff generally provide activities that children enjoy and engage in. They sit at activities alongside children and support their play and general learning. However, they do not tailor their support to encourage less confident children to join in activities or help children build on what they already know and can do.

Although staff take part in training, they do not yet fully understand how to support or sequence learning. Management does not carefully reflect on weaknesses in the staff's teaching practice or provide enough individualised coaching to help close gaps in staff knowledge and teaching skills.Children enjoy being outdoors.

They test their physical skills by moving in various ways, such as balancing and digging. Staff confidently follow children's interests to incorporate what they want children to learn. For example, children learn about numbers.

They delight in filling buckets with wet sand and counting scoops. Staff encourage children to recall previous learning as they turn the bucket over and pat it before removing it to reveal a sandcastle.Staff are extremely caring and positive with the children.

They are attentive to their care needs, offering comfort and affection and reassuring them if they become tired or upset. Staff teach children to use their manners, and older children enjoy helping to tidy away resources. This support contributes effectively to children's developing good self-esteem and emotional security.

Staff establish effective partnerships with parents and other professionals involved with children's care and learning. This helps children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language, to make progress in relation to their individual starting points.Parents speak positively about the nursery and feel their children have made good progress since attending.

They describe the staff as 'amazing', and state communication is good. Parents say their children have learned new vocabulary at the nursery and particularly like how staff support them in managing children's behaviour.Staff provide activities to support children's imaginative play.

As children play in the home corner, they use their imagination well. They pretend to make cakes for staff to eat. Children happily involve their friends as they offer them imaginary drinks and tell them, 'Be careful it's hot'.

Children benefit from supportive staff who show a genuine interest in their conversations and generally model language well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager follows robust safer recruitment procedures to ensure that staff are suitable to fulfil their roles.

All staff have a clear understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities. The manager effectively monitors the staff's knowledge of safeguarding and ensures that regular training updates are completed. All staff demonstrate a clear understanding of what to do if they are concerned about a child, including how to report concerns to local safeguarding partners.

Staff routinely assess risks in the environment and in the activities they offer to ensure that children are safe. They record and report any accidents to parents.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date plan and provide activities that consistently focus on children's most relevant next steps in learning 06/12/2023 ensure all children are consistently supported to engage in meaningful activities and interactions that help to close gaps in their learning 06/12/2023 ensure the monitoring of staff's practice identifies where improvements are required, and provide appropriate professional development to advance their knowledge, teaching skills and support for children's learning.

06/12/2023