Busy Bees Day Nursery at Letchworth

Inspection of Busy Bees Day Nursery at Letchworth Icknield Way, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire SG6 4GY

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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The provision is good

Staff interactions with babies are warm and sensitive. They provide babies with comfort and reassurance as they settle in at the nursery. This helps babies to form meaningful bonds with their key person, as well as the other staff who work in their room. Staff who work with older children make good use of the wealth of information they gather from parents before children start. They support children to quickly settle and adjust to life at the nursery.

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The provision is good

Staff value and respect children's voices. Staff in the pre-school room sit with the children and discuss what the rules for their room should be. Children celebrate their achievements through a 'star of the week' system, which helps them to build their confidence and recognise the successes of their friends.

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The provision is good

Younger children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure in their surroundings as they approach visiting adults to share their toys with them. Staff respond to children calmly and kindly, creating a friendly atmosphere. This helps children to understand how to behave towards one another with minimal disruption to their learning.

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need to do better?

n Parents are actively involved in their children's learning. For instance, parents take bags home to collect natural resources for the children to use in activities at the nursery. The oldest children speak confidently about these experiences, discussing where they went with their parents for walks to collect the materials. As a result, children are able to make connections between their experiences at home and at the nursery. n Staff receive effective support for their professional development. They have access to a variety of learning opportunities and share any new information with the wider staff team. Staff attend regular staff meetings and receive useful feedback from leaders and managers to help them improve their practice. The management team identifies areas where staff may need more help. The team provides appropriate support so that staff can gain qualifications that are relevant to their roles.

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need to do better?

n Robust systems are in place to help children move from one room to another when they are ready. New key persons get to know the child and their family, gathering new information to make sure that they can support children's learning swiftly and effectively. Parents speak highly of this process and comment on the strong communication staff have with them, including the comprehensive handover at the end of the day. This helps to keep parents informed about their children's time at the nursery. n Staff monitor children as they play in the garden and invite children to join them

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need to do better?

6 October 2023 if they are unsure of what activity to choose. Staff communicate well with one another, and children are visible at all times. Staff position themselves effectively across the nursery to ensure that they can meet children's needs. For example, during mealtimes, staff sit with children to make sure that they are safe while they eat. However, the current arrangements for mealtimes are busy and do not enable staff to build on children's learning and encourage their independence at these key times. n Children engage positively with staff across the nursery and keenly join them during activities. Staff build on what children know and can do. They hold discussions with children about what they are doing as they play. Occasionally, during these discussions, some staff do not check children's understanding or present them with the correct information. For example, staff do not explore children's understanding further when they incorrectly name a shape as they

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need to do better?

mould dough. This does not fully benefit children's learning. n Communication and language is a strong focus for staff, and this helps children to become confident communicators. Toddlers use single words, and staff encourage them to build on this as they begin to join words together to form simple sentences. Staff speak clearly so that children can hear how words are formed. Older children communicate their needs effectively, and the oldest children confidently chat to visitors about what they enjoy doing at nursery.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The management team regularly checks staff's knowledge in relation to safeguarding. The team provides staff with the most up-to-date information. Staff are confident in the process to follow should they need to raise concerns regarding children or their colleagues. They know how to raise concerns outside of the nursery if they need to. Managers have robust systems in place to monitor for any possible patterns that could indicate a child may be at risk of harm. They hold discussions with staff to ensure that they remain suitable for their roles.

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should:

n promote children's learning and support them to become even more independent, particularly during mealtimes n help staff to correct children's misconceptions and present them with accurate information consistently so that children can make the most of all learning opportunities.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY289914 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 10309991 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 104 Number of children on roll 150 Name of registered person Busy Bees Nurseries Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01462 683761 Date of previous inspection 22 October 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Busy Bees Day Nursery at Letchworth registered in 2004. The nursery employs 38 members of childcare staff. Of these, 26 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 or above. The nursery opens from 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, all year round, with the exception of bank holidays. It provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The deputy manager and inspector completed a learning walk, where they discussed the intention for children's learning and the early years curriculum on offer. n The inspector spoke to parents and took their views into consideration. n The inspector and deputy manager jointly observed staff interacting with children. They discussed the impact of these interactions on children's learning and development. n The inspector viewed documents, including staff suitability and accident records.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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Inspection activities

6 October 2023 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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