Busy Bees at Godalming Bridge Road

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children and parents are greeted warmly by the friendly staff and manager.

The staff create a warm, welcoming and secure environment. Children, including those who are new to the setting, confidently settle into the daily routines because staff help them to feel safe and well cared for. For example, they spend time getting to know the children and their parents before they start, through well-planned induction sessions.

The well-established key-person system promotes children's emotional well-being and helps them to form secure attachments. Children are happy and confident as they enter their rooms.Children learn how t...o lead a healthy lifestyle.

For example, they enjoy going for daily walks in the local area and choosing their own fruit for snack. Staff encourage children to have a go at peeling the fruit and praise their efforts. Children beam with pride and become independent and confident in their own abilities.

Outdoors, children are happy to be physically active and learn to ride the bicycles and wheeled toys with increasing skill. Children are well behaved. They share toys and take turns during activities with the gentle guidance of staff.

Children have fun in the toddler room and become motivated learners. For example, they concentrate well to make lines in flour using brushes and fingers.

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

The enthusiastic manager completes regular supervisions which provide opportunities for staff to talk about their workload and well-being.

Staff access training for professional development and receive support to improve their knowledge. However, this is not always as effective as it could be. For example, staff received training on planning using the children's interests as starting points, but this has not been fully embedded across the setting.

Some less confident staff are not always fully clear about the learning intentions of activities to ensure they support children's learning even further.Staff place a strong emphasis on supporting and developing children's language. Staff in the baby room gently repeat and pronounce words correctly and introduce new vocabulary to children.

They provide commentary as children play and engage in conversations with them. Babies enjoy playing with sensory toys, exploring touch and the variety of objects that can be found when digging in the sand.Parents, who strongly recommend the setting, comment on the positive contribution staff make to children's personal development and aspects of their self-care, such as toileting and trying new foods.

Staff use online and face-to-face communication to keep parents fully informed about children's progress and their care. Families have thoroughly enjoyed having 'Busy Bee' join them for a weekend and upload a variety of pictures to share with the staff and friends.Children have opportunities to learn about the world around them and to enjoy fresh air and exercise outdoors.

For instance, staff take younger children out for walks in the community, while older children undertake weekly forest school adventures. Children of all ages enjoy playing in the well-resourced playground.Staff are positive role models.

They are kind and caring and form strong attachments with the children in their care. During activities, staff get down to the children's level and actively engage with them. For example, staff encourage children to mix a potion, talking about equipment they will need and watching what happens.

However, they can overlook opportunities to explore more challenging activities and develop mathematical language, such as positional language to find hidden 'fossils' in the sand.Children enjoy a wide range of messy play activities, such as mixing paint on the table top and pouring multicoloured water through tubes. Staff interact with children effectively, asking questions about what they observe and how it feels.

Children respond animatedly, giggling with delight when the water changes colour.Staff work effectively with other professionals involved in children's care and have high expectations for all children. They provide targeted support for children who need additional help.

Subsequently, all children successfully develop the skills they need for their future learning, including school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff are knowledgeable about child protection.

They understand how to keep children safe and confidently identify possible signs that a child may be at risk of harm. Staff know the procedures they should follow if they have concerns about children or a member of staff. They receive regular training and the manager uses scenarios and questions them about safeguarding, so that they can keep their knowledge up to date.

Risk assessments are in place and regular checks are carried out across the nursery to ensure hazards are removed or minimised. Staff are trained in paediatric first aid and follow correct procedures in response to accidents.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: consider further ways to fully extend and challenge children, to help them make the best possible progress in their learning and development, especially in mathematics build on the current arrangements for professional development of staff, so that these focus more specifically on raising the quality of teaching to a consistently high level.