Busy Bees at Guildford

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy their time at the nursery and have strong bonds with the staff, especially their key staff. Their care and learning needs are met well and staff know the children well, clearly identifying if they are unsettled due to tiredness, recovering from illness or becoming unwell.

Children are making good progress in their learning. They behave well and are happy to play with their friends. Children develop good manners, share and take turns, relevant to their age.

Staff act as positive role models. Children take part in a varied range of activities that meet their individual needs and identified next steps in le...arning. All children enjoy painting, the younger children learn to move paint sponges over silver foil and older children enjoy painting outside.

Younger children are encouraged to explore their surroundings and build on their babbling to say words. Older children explore new concepts, such as science, and are challenged to extend their vocabulary and their thinking.Children particularly enjoy playing in the outdoor area and staff use this interest to build on their current skills.

Children develop their physical skills as they do obstacle courses with staff or manoeuvre over the climbing frames. They practise their coordination and physical skills as they negotiate balance equipment, skilfully steer ride-on toys and make chalk marks on the different surfaces outside.

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

The management team have high aspirations for the nursery.

They work together with staff to provide a high-quality care and learning environment for children. They reflect on their practice and take on board feedback from staff and parents to make changes that will have the most impact on what they provide and the information they share. For example, following feedback from a parent, a 'Parents pack' of useful information and processes is under development.

In addition, the site managers have created a handbook for new staff to refer to when learning about their roles and responsibilities.The managers and staff implement daily risk assessments to provide a safe environment for children to play and learn within. When incidents occur, they act swiftly to safeguard children.

They review how and why it happened and amend their procedures to help staff prevent this occurring again.Partnership with parents and other agencies is strong. Parents share how pleased they are with the care their children receive.

Where children have identified or emerging needs, parents confirm that staff and management work in partnership with them and other agencies, such as speech and language therapists. They appreciate the consistency this provides to supporting their children's individual needs.Recruitment, induction and ongoing suitability processes are robust.

Staff receive regular supervision and encouragement to continue their professional development. Within the provision the ethos is to share what you learn with each other. For example, staff mentor apprentices, share what they learn from training and research with their colleagues, and implement learning outcomes from past incidents.

Children receive a varied curriculum which provides opportunities, both inside and outside, for staff to extend their skills and knowledge. The staff know the children well and use their interests to extend on what they already know and can do. For example, outside, children build on their imagination as they use clear box lids and glasses as x-ray devices to see why their friends are 'sick in their tummy'.

Staff, generally, make good use of activities to engage children and extend on their skills. For example, older children made dough and shaped it into stars and objects they liked. They confidently shared what they made, why they made it and what will happen next.

Children share how, once it is cooked and not hot, they will paint their shapes, sharing the colours they will use. Younger children enjoy making a birthday cake for their friend. They enjoy this activity but get frustrated and upset waiting, unoccupied, for the only bowl and spoon to get back to them.

Staff follow a daily routine and children become aware of what happens when. Children know the chef's arrival means snack or lunch time. However, at times, during these transitional times from play and learning to another daily routine, children are not always meaningfully occupied and get restless.

Although staff share that the children are to go into groups, for example, these often take a while to happen so children start wandering.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Management and staff are confident of their roles and responsibilities to protect children.

All staff are aware of the importance of referring concern about a child's welfare or an allegation about a colleague's conduct. They have details readily available on how to 'Speak up' and to quickly refer safeguarding concerns they may have to either the designated safeguarding lead, area director or their local safeguarding partnership. The management team ensure that staff keep safeguarding to the forefront.

They ask staff questions and promote training to ensure that they maintain an up-to-date knowledge of the local safeguarding procedures. Robust recruitment, vetting and induction procedures help ensure that staff are suitable for their roles.

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 transitions in daily routine to enable all children to remain meaningfully occupied and not become restless or wander around unsure of what to do nenhance the involvement of the younger children during adult-led activities to enable them all to have access to resources to maximise their learning opportunities and keep them engaged.