Kids Planet Whetstone

Inspection of The Hunny Bear Day Nursery Grovebrook House, Brook Street, Whetstone, Leicester LE8 6LA

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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 Outstanding

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The provision is good

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well by staff. For example, staff learn sign language and use this to communicate with children. All children are encouraged to develop a love of books. In the toddler room, children squeal with excitement when they act out stories with staff, pretending to be bears as they stomp across grass and into a pretend forest. In the pre-school room, children concentrate and focus when staff use animation in their voice as they read familiar stories. They learn about the author and illustrator and join in with repeated phrases and favourite songs in books. Children in the toddler room show their early writing skills and imagination. For example, they make marks on paper and tell staff that they need apples and bananas when they are asked to write a shopping list.

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The provision is good

Children in the baby and toddler rooms are reminded of behavioural expectations. For example, staff remind babies to use their 'kind hands' when they reach for others, and they ask toddlers to use their 'walking feet' indoors. Children are supported to identify and manage risks in the environment. For instance, staff ask children in the pre-school room to carry out safety checks in the garden to help to identify potential hazards. Children tell visitors that they are looking for 'weeds and animal poo'.

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need to do better?

n Older children behave very well. For example, during group times, they understand to raise their hands if they want to answer questions. When staff ask them to remember the rules and boundaries at group times, children say that they must use their eyes for looking and that they must sit on their bottoms and cross their legs. When staff ask children why they need to put their hands on their legs, children reply, 'So we can concentrate.' n When staff plan activities for children, they show a clear understanding of what they want children to learn to help build on their development. However, at times, staff working with babies do not fully promote their interests and curiosity during self-chosen play. For example, when children want to slide down a low- level wooden car ramp, staff tell them that it is not a slide and help them to move off the equipment. n The management team and staff introduce strategies that help children with

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need to do better?

their self-care skills. Staff regularly remind children to use the toilet and reward their achievements when they succeed. For example, they give children stickers, a medal and a certificate. This contributes to helping to close gaps in this aspect of learning that have arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the COVID- 19 pandemic, the manager and staff also introduced a 'potty academy' to encourage children to learn how to use the potty and toilet.

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need to do better?

21 February 2024 n Staff support children to learn skills for the future, such as being independent. For example, staff in the baby room attach children's photos to their drink bottles to enable them to select their own. n The manager liaises with children's parents to help to identify how to use additional funding that their children receive. For example, the money is spent on purchasing books to support children's language development and on equipment to help to develop children's core strength. n Staff invite children in the pre-school room to talk about their worries and how they are feeling. Children say that they are worried about going to school and learning to ride a bicycle. Staff help children to manage their emotions. For example, they open a window and ask children to take a deep breath and blow their worries out of the window. n Staff visit schools that children will attend when they move on. This helps them

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need to do better?

to find ways to further support children's emotional well-being during this time of transition. The changes they make to practice include helping children in the pre-school room to become more familiar with the lunchtime routine. For example, they take children into a dining room and provide them with a tray to put their cup, cutlery and plate on. n The manager supports staff through, for instance, supervision and appraisal meetings. However, the strategies used for supporting less-experienced staff working with babies are not yet fully in place. This results in some children not receiving consistently high-quality interactions to help to build on their learning as they play.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n support staff working with babies to promote babies' interests and curiosity during self-chosen play n strengthen the support given to less-experienced staff working with babies to help to enhance the overall quality of teaching.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY473466 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 10308452 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

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

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inspection

Total number of places 90 Number of children on roll 233 Name of registered person The Hunny Pot Day Nursery Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 0116 2848434 Date of previous inspection 28 March 2018

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Information about this early years setting

The Hunny Bear Day Nursery registered in 2014 and is situated in Whetstone, Leicestershire. The nursery employs 24 members of childcare staff. Of these, 18 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, and three hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2. The nursery is open from Monday to Friday, all year round, except for bank holidays and one week at Christmas. Sessions are from 7.30am to 6pm. The nursery 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 nursery 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 nursery. n The manager and the inspector had a learning walk together of all areas of the nursery and discussed how the manager implements the curriculum. n The inspector observed the quality of education during activities, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact on children's learning. n Children spoke to and interacted with the inspector throughout the inspection. n The inspector spoke with staff at appropriate times throughout the inspection. n The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager. n The inspector held a meeting with the manager, area manager, provider and director. She reviewed relevant documentation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery.

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Inspection activities

n Parents shared their views of the nursery with the inspector.

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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

21 February 2024 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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