Banana Moon Day Nursery

Inspection of Banana Moon Day Nursery The Old Vicarage, 132 Bedford Road, Kempston, Bedford, Bedfordshire MK42 8BQ

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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

Children are warmly welcomed into the nursery and readily leave their parents at the door. Children form secure bonds with staff and benefit from cuddles and reassurance when needed, to help them feel safe and secure. New children receive one-to-one interaction with familiar adults to help them settle.

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The provision is good

Children benefit from a varied curriculum, both indoors and outdoors, based on their individual learning needs and interests. Staff identify the specific learning needs of each age group. For babies, the focus is on following home routines to help them settle quickly and build strong attachments with staff. For older children, staff promote their independence through daily activities and support their growing vocabulary. For example, children serve their own meals and have independent choices about what they want to play with in the outdoor area. As a result, all children make steady progress, including children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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The provision is good

Children generally behave well. When minor disputes occur, staff talk to children about making good choices, give gentle reminders of the nursery rules and explain how their behaviour could affect others.

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need to do better?

n Staff know the children and their families well. Before children start at the nursery, they gather information from parents and other early years settings. They use this information to consider what children need to learn next. While there is a key-person system in place, all staff know how to meet the individual care needs of children. For instance, staff have clear strategies to support children with medical needs or allergies to ensure their safety. n Children have daily opportunities to be physically active in the nursery gardens. They show good coordination as staff encourage them to use the small climbing wall. Children demonstrate pride as they reach the top, happy with their achievements. In the mud kitchen, children use the selection of utensils to pretend to mix in the saucepans. They use their imagination as they re-create a birthday cake out of mud and use stones to represent the candles.

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need to do better?

n Children enjoy various activities at the nursery. For example, young babies eagerly join in with painting and printing activities. Toddlers explore small fishing rods and delight as they catch wooden sea creatures. Overall, staff extend children's learning as they play. However, this is not consistent. At times, they do not focus their teaching to fully engage children and, on occasions, children wander around and disengage. n Children's communication and language are supported well. Staff are good role models and extend children's language effectively. For example, when toddlers

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need to do better?

11 October 2024 use single words, staff repeat these back, adding additional words to the sentence. Babies benefit from back-and-forth interactions that help lay firm foundations for their language and cognitive development. n Children are beginning to understand the daily routines. For example, staff use the 'tidy-up song' to signal that they need to help tidy up in preparation for lunch. However, during lunchtime routines, children wait too long before their turn to self-serve their lunch and they become restless. Additionally, when they move from inside the nursery to the garden, this takes some time as children wait for others to be ready. At these times, children start to push each other as they stand and wait. n Partnerships with parents are a strength of the nursery. Parents appreciate the caring and dedicated staff, as well as the feedback they receive about their children's day. They state that staff are genuinely proud of their children's

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need to do better?

achievements. Parents value the nutritious home-cooked meals provided at the nursery. n Staff report feeling well supported by the manager. She regularly observes their teaching practice and provides helpful feedback. Staff attend training courses to enhance their professional development. They share new ideas with the staff team and implement these in practice. For example, staff attend a course to support children's oral hygiene. They now provide additional activities to raise children's awareness of good oral hygiene.

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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 focus staff's teaching during children's play to maximise and fully extend their learning n review the nursery routines to ensure that children do not wait for prolonged periods of time.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY481079 Local authority Bedford Inspection number 10361202 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 70 Number of children on roll 86 Name of registered person Omni People Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01234 855 492 Date of previous inspection 19 October 2022

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Information about this early years setting

Banana Moon Day Nursery was registered in 2015. The nursery employs 18 members of childcare staff. Of these, eight hold qualifications at level 3 or above, including one with a qualified teacher status. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.30pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector viewed the provision and discussed the safety and suitability of the premises. n The manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about their curriculum and what they want their children to learn. n Staff spoke to the inspector during the inspection. n The inspector spoke with the nominated individual about the leadership and management of the setting. n Parents shared their views of the setting with the inspector n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact that this was having on children's learning.

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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

11 October 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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Inspection activities

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