Active Montessori Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and thoroughly enjoy their time at this warm and well-organised nursery. Staff provide a nurturing and stimulating learning environment where children experience an abundance of warmth and care. Positive interactions with staff offer children continuity and stability, helping them build strong, trusting relationships. Children develop their confidence well. For example, they eagerly explore the carefully planned indoor and outdoor environments. Staff are kind and patient and set clear, consistent expectations for behaviour. They are quick to recognise when children need help in managing their emotions and respond with timely support. For younger children, or those who find it harder to settle, staff offer gentle reassurance, such as singing softly or providing comforting cuddles to help them feel secure.

All children progress well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. Staff are dedicated to providing a broad range of enriching experiences that support children in gaining essential skills for future learning. They understand and respond to the individual needs of children requiring extra support. Where additional funding is available, it is used effectively to meet individual needs. Staff also seek further support or funding when necessary and work collaboratively with other professionals to help close any gaps in children's learning.

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

• Staff help children develop their communication skills by talking with them throughout the day and making good use of songs and stories. They introduce new vocabulary and ask questions that extend children's learning. Staff model language effectively and provide children with time to respond. They also use Makaton, visual aids and key words to support children's understanding. Children are learning that their efforts and contributions are valued, and they are becoming confident communicators.
• Children benefit from a stimulating, well-balanced curriculum. The leader collaborates with staff to shape its intent, ensuring it meets the needs of all learners. Staff provide meaningful opportunities for children to revisit and practise emerging skills, helping them progress confidently through each stage of learning. Mathematics is thoughtfully woven into daily activities. Children are introduced to numbers through engaging songs, and many can count beyond five. They also explore mathematical concepts such as taller and smaller than. Children develop a positive, enthusiastic attitude towards mathematics.
• Staff encourage children to develop independence and learn about healthy lifestyles. For example, children confidently manage their self-care needs, using knives, forks and spoons appropriately during mealtimes and managing personal routines. They help themselves to healthy snacks and enjoy eating with friends in a relaxed, social environment. Staff engage them in discussions about healthy eating and the effects of unhealthy food, supporting their understanding of nutrition and well-being. Staff also remind children to drink water, which they can access independently. In addition, staff teach children how to brush their teeth and maintain good oral hygiene.
• Parents speak positively about the nursery and the staff. They clearly attribute their children's progress to the nursery and the teaching they receive. Parents say that their children greatly enjoy attending, and the staff are friendly. These positive relationships support the overall emotional well-being of children.
• Children learn about a variety of different cultures and how people are similar and different to themselves. Staff frequently take children on trips to places of interest in the local community and beyond. This helps children to gain an understanding of where they live and helps to prepare them for life in modern Britain.
• Staff ensure children's physical well-being is well supported. Children engage in energetic outdoor play, developing their climbing skills and taking safe, controlled risks that strengthen their balance and coordination. They confidently navigate the available space while operating wheeled toys. However, staff provide fewer opportunities to enhance younger children's physical development through simple daily routines.
• The leader works closely with staff on a day-to-day basis, offering good support through regular supervision and observing their interactions with children. However, she is not consistently robust in identifying areas of practice that require development, which limits opportunities to improve staff performance and move the overall quality of the provision to the next level.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• expand the opportunities for younger children to engage in a wider range of challenging physical activities, to further support their skill development
• build upon the existing supervision and self-evaluation processes, to more precisely identify strengths and swiftly address areas for improvement in order to further enhance staff's knowledge and raise the overall quality of the provision to the next level.