Busy Bees Uttoxeter

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and confident. They separate from their parents and carers with ease.

Staff are friendly and caring. They build strong bonds with the children, which helps them to feel safe and secure. Young children enjoy exploring and cruising round their rooms.

They look at their reflections in mirrored balls and giggle. Staff roll these balls and support children to develop their physical skills as they catch and try to roll them back.Staff enhance children's experiences.

They bring stories alive. Children recall the story 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' and use small-world toys to splash into a bowl of wa...ter and say 'splash splosh'. Staff rip up pieces of white paper and hold them in the air and let them go.

Children watch as they float down and pretend they are in a snowstorm. Older children learn about people in the community who help them, such as police officers and ambulance drivers. They enjoy role play as they dress up as their chosen profession.

Children excitedly want to show their key person what they look like.Children enjoy spending time outdoors. They gain an early understanding of mathematical language.

Staff build towers out of bricks with the children, and they work out who is taller or shorter than the tower. Overall, children behave well. If any unwanted behaviour is displayed, staff review the environment to see what the trigger may be that is impacting on children's ability to self-regulate their behaviour.

Staff teach children that we do not use our hands to hit, but we use them for holding pencils, being creative and being kind.

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

Leaders, along with staff, have made significant improvements to the setting, which has addressed the weaknesses identified at the last inspection. A new manager has ensured that staff have accessed and completed training to support them in their roles.

Staff report high levels of morale. They say that they feel supported, and the changes have been positive.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported.

Staff who have received training in this specialist area, support others to implement individual support plans. Regular assessments, intensive support, and meetings with parents and/or other professional involved in the child's care, ensure that children make the best possible progress.Children are encouraged to be independent.

They learn self-care skills, such as dressing themselves by putting on their own coat and shoes. Children practise cleaning model teeth with toothbrushes and understand the importance of this. Nursery routines help to support transitions between activities.

Children help to wash down tables before lunchtime. However, some routines are not as well organised as they could be. For example, mealtime routines in the younger children's room do not support children as they sit for long periods while they wait for their food.

Staff know the children well. They gather information about their likes and dislikes to plan activities in line with their interests. These activities are ambitious in their learning intent.

However, at times, younger children do not always understand what is expected of them. For example, when listening to the sounds of birds, children say that they can hear a pigeon. The sound continues and the response expected by staff is 'rainforest'.

The children do not understand this concept. On occasion, activities provided for older children are not always ambitious enough for their level of understanding. For example, they complete jigsaws with ease as these do not sufficiently challenge them.

The curriculum for communication and language is good. Children are exposed to a rich vocabulary. They particularly like listening to stories that staff read to them.

Children sit on staff's knees and eagerly talk about the characters and what may happen next. Staff act as good roles models and introduce new words, such as 'aeroplane', 'octopus' and 'tentacles'. However, staff could allow children more time to think and respond when giving their own ideas in order to support children to practise their skills and build longer sentences.

The manager and her staff provide a broad and varied curriculum, which aims to give all children the same experiences and the same best start in their learning. For example, children who have been on camping holidays share their experiences with others. Staff provide activities linked with tents and outdoor eating so that other children can share in the experience.

The manager has implemented an effective system of monitoring staff practice. Regular observations of staff's interactions with children are completed within all rooms. This ensures that the quality of teaching is consistently good.

The manager reviews observations and assessments completed for children to ensure that they are making the best possible progress. This means that any gaps in learning are swiftly identified and support put into place.Partnerships with parents are good.

Parents comment that their children enjoy coming to nursery. They say that staff are caring and friendly and get to know the children well. Parents are happy that they receive support at home with their child's learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Since the last inspection improvements to safeguarding have been made. New procedures for monitoring and checking documentation completed by staff have been implemented by management.

This ensures that records are accurate. Staff attend face-to-face training in safeguarding. They are aware of the signs and symptoms which may indicate a child is at risk or suffering from harm.

Staff know the procedures to follow to report concerns about children in their care and understand to do this without delay. Appropriate risk assessments of the premises and environment ensure that they are safe for children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the organisation of nursery routines, such as mealtimes, so that children are consistently engaged in the curriculum continue to embed activities that sufficiently challenge children and are in line with their stage of development provide further opportunities for children to practise their communication and language skills.