Busy Bees at Cambridge Westwick

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children thrive in the nursery and are highly motivated to join in with the stimulating, hands-on experiences. They eagerly explore the rich and exciting environment and relish discovering new things from the treasure trove of resources.

Babies practise their growing physical skills as they crawl to explore the inviting space and pull themselves to standing on the sturdy furniture. They find shiny objects and delight in the noise they make when banging them together. Children explore the forest school, learning about nature and caring for animals.

They discuss why spiders build cobwebs and what insects are livin...g in the bug hotel they have made. Children are beginning to understand their emotions and how to express themselves with considered support from practitioners. They mould clay into faces and decorate it with leaves and twigs to demonstrate how they are feeling.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. Practitioners show the utmost respect to children and each other, demonstrating the behaviour that is expected. Children are impressively self-sufficient and keen to do things for themselves.

Practitioners help babies to be successful, showing them the mechanics of how to tip their cup to drink, and wipe their own faces after lunch. When babies are tired or upset, practitioners hold them close and gently comfort them.

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

Leadership and management are exceptional.

The centre director has high expectations for all practitioners, and this is reflected in everyday practice. She is highly visible in the nursery, which enables her to really know what is happening, how best to deploy practitioners and where some might need more coaching or support. The centre director values and respects her practitioners, ensuring they are involved in all aspects of the provision.

Practitioners report their morale is high, and they are proud to be part of a team that puts children at the heart of what they do.Children are exceptionally confident speakers and are developing excellent communication skills. Practitioners skilfully weave new words into the conversation as children play.

They check children's understanding, offering alternative words to embed this new knowledge. For example, practitioners use camouflage and explain it means to blend in like a chameleon. This is highly effective in helping to extend children's vocabulary.

Practitioners have high expectations for children. They praise children's efforts when they have worked hard to achieve a goal or persevered with a difficult task. This helps build children's confidence in their abilities and reinforces their positive attitudes to learning.

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make excellent progress. Additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, is used highly effectively to support children's needs and reduce any differences in their learning. Practitioners have a superb understanding of what each child already knows and what they need to learn next.

They work closely with parents and other agencies to review children's next steps, which helps them to decide what to teach children.Leaders and senior practitioners have designed an ambitious curriculum that ensures every child has the best possible start to their education. They have a detailed knowledge of their key children and use information from their observations of children to guide their planning.

Practitioners are skilled at knowing when to intervene in children's play and when to stand back and watch the learning happen. They closely monitor children's well-being and progress to identify any gaps in learning, so that these can be swiftly addressed.Practitioners recognise that for children to develop their early writing skills, they need lots of rich opportunities for physical play.

Children learn to balance, control their muscles, and enjoy running around outdoors in the fresh air. Older children enjoy drawing on paper and younger children use tweezers to move small objects from one place to another.Partnerships with parents are very well established and valued.

Parents report how exceptionally well informed they are about their children's learning and provide very positive comments about their children's experiences at the nursery. They say that practitioners are approachable and always have time for them.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The safeguarding policies and procedures are stringent and extremely well understood. As a result, practitioners are highly confident in identifying signs and symptoms of abuse. Practitioners understand what they must do should they have any concerns about children's well-being or the conduct of their colleagues.

They complete training courses to develop their knowledge of wider safeguarding issues. Leaders regularly check that practitioners understand their role in safeguarding through questioning and ongoing training. Robust recruitment and vetting arrangements are in place to help ensure that all adults working with children are suitable.