Busy Bees at Bicester Kingsmere

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement The quality of education is variable. Staff are building on strengthening their skills, having experienced several changes in the team recently. While they provide a range of learning experiences for the children to enjoy, not all children benefit from a consistently planned and well-implemented curriculum.

Staff deployment is not always effective, particularly in the toddler and pre-school units. This results in inconsistent teaching and learning. However, overall, staff create fun indoor and outdoor environments, which children of all ages confidently explore.

Children use their muscles to safely navigate bridges, balan...ce beams and obstacles. Babies are confident and settled and clearly feel safe and secure. Staff are attentive to their needs and know their routines well.

On occasion, some older children display challenging behaviour that is disruptive. Children do not always listen to staff, and they repeatedly ignore staff requests. While some staff do address behaviour appropriately, some do not pursue it, which does not build on children's understanding of behaviour expectations and the consequences of their actions.

At times, this impacts on the quality of teaching. Despite this, children have formed positive bonds with staff who care for them. Staff praise children for what they do well.

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

The new management team is skilled and passionate about providing good-quality care and education for all children. There are targeted plans to work towards to drive improvements and strengthen the team further. However, the recent changes in the staff team have meant that coaching, mentoring and the implementation of the curriculum are in their infancy in helping staff fulfil their roles and build on the quality of practice.

Overall, most children listen and behave well. However, there are some staff that have yet to establish consistent behaviour management strategies. This gives children inconsistent messages and does not help them to understand what is expected of their behaviour.

Consequently, these weaknesses are a distraction to others and do not support all children in making the full progress they are truly capable of.Staff ensure that the youngest children have plenty of opportunities to explore and learn through messy play. They identify and support individual sensory needs well, as children thoroughly enjoy water, sand and play dough.

Staff surround babies with love and nurture, particularly as they settle them to sleep.Overall, staff focus on promoting children's communication and language skills. They get down to the children's level to talk to them about what they are doing and play with them suitably.

Staff enthusiastically sing songs and nursery rhymes. Younger children delight in these daily routines and try to copy the actions and sing along.Children enjoy a wide range of outdoor experiences.

They benefit from nutritious and balanced meals and snacks throughout the day. Staff help children to understand that this contributes to their overall good health. Staff support children to do as much for themselves as possible.

For example, children make simple choices about the food they want to eat. They are supported to use cutlery and pour their own drinks. Older children have opportunities to prepare the table and serve their own food.

This helps to develop children's early independence skills.Some skilled staff use opportunities as they arise during play to build on children's mathematical skills. For example, they encourage children to count in sequence during activities and support them to recognise shapes.

Staff provide children with opportunities to learn about diversity and other cultures and beliefs. However, they have not considered ways to fully support children to gain a better understanding of the modern world, with particular regards to information and digital technology.The management team ensures the setting has appropriate arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

All children are developing and building on their independence skills well. This helps to prepare them for the next stages of their learning.The management team and staff have effective communication with parents, and this helps to provide continuity in children's care and learning.

They share daily feedback about children's care and learning activities. This helps to reassure parents and support children's learning at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date improve strategies in guiding children's behaviour, which support staff to be consistent in their approach, and build on children's understanding of behaviour expectations and the consequences of their actions 18/10/2024 improve methods of coaching and mentoring to effectively support staff to have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and increase the quality of practice.18/10/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: fully support children to gain a better understanding of the modern world, with particular regards to information and digital technology.

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