Busy Bees Day Nursery at Preston

Bamber Bridge

Unique reference number (URN): 503750 Address: School Lane, Bamber Bridge, Preston, Lancashire, PR5 6QE Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 30/08/2001 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Busy Bees Nurseries Limited

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Children's welfare and well-being Strong standard

Care practices across the setting are highly effective in meeting children's individual needs. Staff know the children well and respond sensitively to their cues, ensuring that every child feels valued and secure. Key-person relationships are positive and consistent, particularly in the younger children's rooms, where staff provide calm and nurturing support that helps babies and toddlers to settle quickly and build confidence.

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Children's welfare and well-being Strong standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are disadvantaged and those known to children's social care receive personalised care that reflects their individual routines and preferences. Leaders work closely with families and external professionals to ensure that adjustments are well planned and regularly reviewed. This targeted support promotes equity and inclusion for all children.

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Children's welfare and well-being Strong standard

Children are encouraged to make choices and develop independence in caring for their own needs, such as feeding themselves, washing hands and dressing for outdoor play. Practitioners skilfully use daily routines to talk about keeping healthy and safe. Staff help children recognise and name their feelings, using visual cues and calm discussion to build emotional understanding and resilience.

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Children's welfare and well-being Strong standard

Routines for sleeping, weaning and mealtimes are flexible and responsive to children's individual rhythms, successfully promoting a secure sense of wellbeing, safety and trust throughout the setting.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have embedded a highly inclusive culture where every child is recognised and valued as an individual. Systems for identifying and assessing children's needs are robust, and staff work closely with families to ensure that emerging concerns are identified swiftly. Leaders implement a clear graduated approach, ensuring that adaptations and reasonable adjustments are purposeful and tailored to each child's needs. Examples include using visual timetables, simplifying instructions, breaking tasks into smaller steps and providing calm spaces for regulation. Practitioners adapt the environment to reduce sensory overload, offer flexible settling-in routines and provide targeted small-group sessions to support

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Expected standard

communication, social interaction and early learning skills. These adjustments help all children participate fully and feel a strong sense of belonging.

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Expected standard

Children with additional needs or those previously known to children's social care receive sensitive and effective support. Leaders work proactively with external professionals, such as health visitors, speech and language therapists and early help services, to ensure joined- up planning and consistent provision. Regular reviews show improvements in children's communication, confidence and engagement.

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Expected standard

Leaders ensure that early years pupil premium funding is used effectively to reduce barriers to learning, for example through additional key-person time, enriched language activities and access to specialist resources. As a result, disadvantaged children make notable progress.

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Expected standard

Ongoing professional development ensures that staff apply inclusive strategies consistently, enabling all children to feel secure, included and able to thrive from their individual starting points.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make progress from their individual starting points, particularly in communication and language. Staff model language effectively through repetition, praise and questioning that extends children's vocabulary and confidence. They become enthusiastic communicators who listen and respond with growing understanding.

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Achievement Expected standard

While there are minor inconsistencies in curriculum delivery in the younger children's rooms, these close quickly as children move through the setting. Experienced staff in the older children's rooms skilfully plan learning that meets individual needs, ensuring that children leave confident, articulate and well prepared for their next stage of education.

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Achievement Expected standard

Disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children known to social care receive targeted support through close partnership with families and professionals. Progress is closely monitored, and additional help is provided promptly.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children's achievements are celebrated, and they show pride, curiosity and growing independence. All children make sustained progress and develop a secure foundation for future learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders have created a warm and positive environment where expectations for behaviour are clear and consistently reinforced. Most children behave well, showing respect for adults and peers. Relationships between practitioners and children are nurturing, helping children feel secure and confident. Staff model positive interactions and encourage sharing, turn- taking and cooperative play, supporting children's personal and social development.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders also promote the importance of punctuality and attendance effectively. They communicate with families about how regular attendance and arriving on time support children's wellbeing and learning. Daily warm welcomes help children settle quickly and reinforce the value of starting routines promptly. Monitoring systems enable leaders to identify patterns early and offer support to families when needed.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children generally show positive attitudes towards learning and routines. They respond well to praise and reassurance and take pride in their achievements. Practitioners use calm reminders and sensitive redirection to maintain expectations and meet individual needs.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

However, some routines are not yet fully effective. At mealtimes, children occasionally wait too long, leading to disengagement and missed opportunities to encourage conversation, independence and positive behaviour. This inconsistency means children's engagement is not always sustained throughout the day.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders recognise this and are reviewing routines to ensure that transitions and mealtimes become more purposeful and supportive learning opportunities.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have developed a broad and balanced curriculum that supports children's learning across all areas of development. Most staff understand what children need to learn next and plan engaging activities that reflect their interests and build on prior knowledge. Children enjoy taking part in a range of meaningful experiences, showing curiosity and growing confidence. There is evidence of effective practice in some areas, such as supporting early communication, counting and exploration through play.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

However, not all staff are yet confident in articulating the setting's curriculum vision or how their teaching contributes to it. Some are less clear about the sequence of learning or how to extend children's thinking during play. Inconsistency in staff's knowledge means that the quality of interactions varies, and learning opportunities are occasionally missed.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders are aware of these differences and have begun to strengthen professional development and supervision so that all practitioners share the same understanding of the curriculum intent. Staff appraisals and coaching sessions are supporting greater reflection, but further work is needed to ensure that everyone knows their own development priorities.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are reviewing routines to ensure that transitions and mealtimes become more purposeful and supportive learning opportunities.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear commitment to providing quality care and education. The manager has an accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development through self-evaluation and regular monitoring. Decisions are made in the best interests of all children, including those who are disadvantaged and those who need targeted support. As a result, all children's individual needs are well met, and staff promote an inclusive, caring and nurturing environment.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Supervisions and team meetings are established and regular, providing opportunities for reflection and feedback. However, these are not yet fully effective in identifying or addressing individual staff development needs. Some practitioners are not confident about their own professional targets, which contributes to minor inconsistencies in teaching practice. The manager has completed a self-evaluation of the setting, but this has not yet been shared with the wider team. As a result, staff are not fully aware of the setting's current improvement priorities or how they contribute to them.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders promote staff wellbeing and maintain manageable workloads. They are reflective and motivated to continue improving outcomes for all children.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children arrive happily and settle quickly into this welcoming and nurturing environment. They are greeted by staff who know them well and respond warmly to their individual needs. Highly secure key-person relationships mean that children feel safe, valued and confident to explore and try new things. Babies and younger children receive calm, sensitive support that helps them to develop trust, independence and secure attachments.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children enjoy their learning and play with curiosity and enthusiasm. Activities are well planned around their interests, such as exploring transport, counting, matching games and colour play. They are encouraged to share ideas, express preferences and explore through talk and experimentation. Older children make strong progress in communication and language, confidently joining conversations and using new vocabulary. Any early gaps in progress close rapidly because staff in the older children's rooms are highly skilled in supporting vocabulary, reasoning and social confidence.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

The importance of attendance is communicated effectively across the setting. Staff consistently promote regular attendance to families and help them understand how regular routines support children's emotional security, learning and progress. Leaders monitor attendance carefully and work positively with parents when patterns of absence begin to emerge. As a result, children benefit from stable routines and continuity in their learning, which strengthens their confidence and development.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children behave well in the main and show kindness towards others. They learn to share, take turns and cooperate in play. At times, children become less engaged during mealtimes due to slow transitions. Leaders are already refining routines to keep children involved and supported during these periods.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are disadvantaged are fully included and make strong progress from their starting points. Families are

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Inspector:

Liz Thomson welcomed, well-informed and active partners in their child's learning journey. Children leave this setting happy, confident and well prepared for their next stage of learning and development.

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Next steps

Leaders should help all staff understand precisely targeted areas for their own individual development. Leaders should use self-evaluation more effectively to help all staff understand and contribute to the nursery's key areas for development.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners and the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) during the inspection.

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About this inspection

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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Address:

School Lane Bamber Bridge Preston Lancashire PR5 6QE

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Busy Bees Nurseries Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standards expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standards set out in statutory and non-statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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