True to its name, Busy Bees' pre-school in its Welwyn Garden City nursery is always a hive of activity. Situated in a leafy business park which is home to Tesco head offices, the pre-school occupies a spacious room which was part of a major refurbishment two years ago. With 24 children out of the setting's total 74 based in the pre-school, it is clearly the hub for what is one of the group's most vibrant and popular sites.
The older children benefit from the fact that the managers of their room have worked in it for a long while. Pre-school room leader Dawn Mahood has been employed by Busy Bees for no less than 14 years. Five of those were spent in the babies room, five in the toddlers, and she is now in her fifth year in the pre-school 'Swans'.
'In those five years the room has changed a lot,' she says. 'It was quite structured and activities tended to be more adult-led. However, the classroom approach is long gone and it is now all about children making their own choices.'
Achieving the right balance between children following their own interests and participating in group activities is vital. The priority is that all children are motivated to learn.
'We like to see children being outgoing, because this shows they are engaged and enjoying themselves,' says Dawn. 'The children model their behaviour on that of their carers and we reflect a lot on this important dimension of our jobs. We are upbeat and encourage them to participate - we wouldn't expect the children to try anything that I or one of my colleagues would not be prepared to do. For the pre-schoolers, it is very much about giving them confidence in their own abilities, which stands them in good stead when they go to school.'
Ensuring a child feels comfortable from the minute he or she moves up to the pre-school is vital. 'Some of the younger ones need reassurance when they first join the room and they have to adjust to a new environment.
'We put a lot of thought into how we introduce new children into the room. At small-group circle time, for example, we reinforce that we all need to be nice to our friends, and we shadow newcomers to make sure they are settling in. Occasionally one of us will notice that a child may be a bit shell-shocked, so we pick up on their emotions and address any things they may be hesitant or worried about.'
Dawn reports that the pre-school has had fantastic feedback from reception teachers on the quality of documentation in the learning journeys, 'All about Me'. She says, 'Teachers have fed back to me that they are incredibly impressed by the levels of observation and information about children, which are really useful to them.'
OUTDOORS AND GREEN
The outdoors is essential for providing challenge to the pre-school children. Each room has its own, but interconnecting, areas with age-appropriate resources. Busy Bees likes to come up with new ideas to encourage all children to participate in physical activities and is now introducing Wake and Shake, a five-minute daily dance activity for two- to five-year-olds.
Manager Lisa Stevens says, 'We are looking forward to launching this and giving the children five minutes to energise at the start of their day. The activity invites children to laugh and relax, and ultimately increase their confidence.'
The outdoors includes growing areas for the children to cultivate fruit and vegetables. As children move through the nursery, they are increasingly involved in learning about food preparation and nutrition, and play an active role in organising meals and snack times.
A green approach to nursery life is also important. Lisa says, 'We recycle all our materials, including waste paper, cardboard, plastic, metal and mobile phones. The building also uses energy efficient lighting and we are constantly looking at new ways to conserve resources.'
Cementing relationships with parents is vital to ensuring that children progress smoothly through the nursery and have a memorable final year in the pre-school. Busy Bees communicates with its parents by e-mail and recently introduced a text messaging service, which is invaluable if there is an emergency. Lisa says, 'We find that e-mail communication is far more direct because parents tend to get overwhelmed with paper, or sheets get left in a drawer.'
Busy Bees' meticulously compiled learning journeys are hugely appreciated. 'Parents love to take the folders home, as they provide a precious record of their child's development and time at nursery,' says Lisa. 'All of their child's special moments are there, along with individual and group observations, and are wonderful for both children and parents to look back on.'
- - Busy Bees Welwyn Garden City was a finalist for the Nursery World Pre-school of the Year Award 2010. The deadline for entry for this year's awards has been extended to 3 June. Visit www.nurseryworldawards.com
STAFF TRAINING
A stable staff team at Busy Bees in Welwyn Garden City is key to its success. Manager Lisa Stevens originally worked for the nursery in 1994, subsequently left, but then returned in 2000 as manager. Selvi Kinnoo, who is Dawn's assistant in the pre-school, has been a team member for seven years and recently achieved a BA in Early Childhood Studies.
'We have a low staff turnover because there are lots of opportunities for people to progress,' says Lisa. 'Our nursery practitioner has just moved from Level 2 to Level 3 and we have an apprentice who is currently on course for Level 3. A male staff member is our early years educator.'
The group holds annual good practice conferences to disseminate good practice across the group's 129 settings and get back to basics by focusing on the well-being of each individual child. All staff are currently being supported with online training covering mealtimes, allergies, cross-infection, fire, safety, administration of medicines, sleep times and communication with parents.
