Busy Bees at Cheam

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff provide an inviting environment for children to enter. Key staff come to the main door to collect children and use this as an opportunity to talk to parents and hear children's news. Children happily leave their parents with staff to go to their rooms, and once there they quickly settle down to play with their friends.

Staff have built strong bonds with children. Children eagerly explore the activities that staff have set out for them. Babies explore and investigate with different textures and apparatus, building on their coordination and physical skills.

Staff encourage children's communication. They narrate wha...t is happening and reinforce this with signing. Older babies enjoy action songs and excitedly try to pop bubbles and chase them around the room.

They observe a tomato plant with staff and create their own using paint. This encourages children to explore and investigate and to use a range of different mediums to express themselves. All children benefit from a well-equipped outside play area that provides plenty of shelter and shade.

Older children enjoy negotiating obstacle courses, digging in the sand trays and pouring water using various containers. Staff use these activities well to build on children's skills and extend their knowledge. For example, they encourage children to learn how to manoeuvre over equipment safely, predict what might happen if they pour water over a waterwheel and match upper- and lower-case letters as they dig blocks out of soil.

Children are kind to each other and behave well. All children make good progress in their learning and development.

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

Leaders and managers have a clear vision of the provision they want to provide.

They work with their dedicated staff team to reflect on how they can provide the best experiences for children and their families. Managers and staff evaluate the effectiveness of the care and education they provide and recognise areas for development. For example, changes are being embedded in one room to help younger children learn what is expected of them and how to manoeuvre safely around the nursery and to support staff's consistency.

Managers and staff ensure that children remain safe in their care. Robust recruitment and induction processes help ensure that staff are suitable. Risk assessments are completed to help ensure the environment is safe and secure for children, and action is taken when potential hazards are identified.

For example, following on from a recent action, staff have removed some wooden edging around a sandpit to ensure all children can play in safety outside. The chef and staff work together to ensure that children's dietary needs and allergies are adhered to. These measures help keep children safe from adverse reactions.

The managers and staff have high expectations for all children. Each room has a curriculum that focuses on providing children with experiences and activities that build on their interests and skills. Staff know the children well and confidently share their identified next steps in learning.

They plan how they will implement activities and what they intend children to learn from these. However, staff across the nursery are not always consistent in ensuring children are also being challenged where needed. At these times, this leads to children disengaging from their learning and walking away.

Staff set clear expectations for behaviour. They act as good role models and demonstrate by example how to treat others with respect. Staff help children understand the consequences of their actions from an early age.

They calmly support children when minor disputes occur and encourage sharing and taking turns. For example, staff encourage toddlers to be careful of their friends as they jump to pop bubbles. Staff get younger children to use the 'bumble train' to line up nicely and walk carefully outside.

Older children know why they need to wait patiently in line, without pushing, for their turn on the obstacle course.Staff regularly share a wide range of information with parents. There are noticeboards and information sheets outside the nursery, and by each room there are details about the staff, the monthly focus in the room and resource packs for parents to use at home.

Parents are very complimentary about the staff and the care that their children receive. They say that the online parent apps keep them informed about their children's day and what they have done and give them ideas on activities they can do with their children at home.Careful monitoring by staff ensures every child makes good progress from their starting points and any gaps in learning are swiftly identified.

Staff respect children's home backgrounds and learn words in any other languages they hear to support their inclusion. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive good support from staff, who demonstrate a secure knowledge of any individual educational plans and education, health and care plans and how to implement them. Managers and staff work closely with parents and other professionals to provide any extra support needed.

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 further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen the curriculum intent, and staff consistency in implementing this, to ensure it is challenging, maintains all children's interest and consistently meets their individual needs.