Honeybees Nursery, Pre-School and Willand Copse Forest School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement The friendly and welcoming staff greet children and parents and help children to settle quickly.

Staff know the children well, and children form secure attachments with the staff who care for them. Children have confidence to choose what they would like to play with from the wide range of resources accessible to them. Children enjoy being outside.

They have lots of opportunities to use the well-planned and resourced gardens, where they take part in growing and caring for plants. The manager has a clear idea about what she wants children to learn. She involves staff in designing and adapting the curriculum.

There ...is a clear focus for what they want children to achieve at different ages and stages in their learning. However, there is variation in how some aspects of the curriculum are implemented into practice, particularly for the older children. Therefore, the curriculum is not as ambitious for all the children, as staff do not recognise when older children need more support and focus.

Overall, children behave well. They join in with tidying away the resources, and older children follow routines and instructions. However, staff are not always consistent in speaking to younger children about why they should not run or throw things.

This does not help younger children to learn how to manage their behaviour independently.

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

The manager and staff have worked hard since their last inspection to make changes and improvements to the nursery. The new staff team reports that it is well supported in carrying out its roles.

Staff access training, and the manager is available to offer advice and guidance.Staff spend time with all the children. They eat breakfast together and have opportunities to come together throughout the day.

This helps children to become familiar with all of the adults who care for them. As a result, children move with ease to the next room within the nursery when they are developmentally ready. In addition, each child has their own key person, who is responsible for working closely with their parents to help them to settle and to learn about their needs and interests.

Parents say that staff work with them to keep them informed about their children's day and to share information about their learning. Parents report that they are well informed and happy with the care that their children receive.The provider and staff monitor and assess children's progress and consider what they want children to learn and achieve.

Staff have areas to focus on within their curriculum. This works well for younger children. For instance, staff support the younger children to follow routines, learn hygiene practices and to develop their physical skills.

Although staff know what they want older children to learn, they do not consider how to implement their curriculum to provide children with the challenge they need. Children who require support for their confidence and social interactions spend a long time playing alone, and staff do not consider how to support them to be confident and to build relationships with others.Staff support younger children's interest in stories and singing well.

Staff introduce new words, such as 'acorn', as children explore the autumnal resources. Children thoroughly enjoy using props to hold as they join in with some actions to their favourite songs. However, at times, staff struggle with some of the younger children's behaviour.

Staff do not consistently explain 'why' to the children, saying 'no' or 'no thank you' instead. This does not help children to understand what they are doing wrong.The manager and staff recognise children's needs and work with parents to access support from other professionals for children with delays in their development and for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

However, they are not consistent in their approach to supporting children with SEND to enable them to be involved in activities and to communicate their needs. Although there are plans in place to support children, these are not precise enough to target what children need to help them make better progress.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager and staff recognise their responsibilities to keep children safe. They ensure that they risk assess the indoor and outdoor spaces. The manager follows safer recruitment procedures to check and monitor the suitability of the adults who work with the children.

All staff have a secure understanding of how to identify when a child may be at risk of harm, and they know the procedures to report any concerns that they have.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date continue to develop a curriculum that is ambitious for all children so that all children receive the challenge that they need to make better progress in their learning.16/10/2023 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide a more consistent approach to supporting the younger children to learn to manage their feelings and behaviour develop more targeted support for children with SEND, to enable them to communicate their needs and make better progress in their learning.