Bambinos Montessori Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff at this nursery provide strong support for all children, including those who speak English as an additional language or have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They demonstrate a caring and enthusiastic approach, which helps children settle in quickly and start playing. Children, especially those who have recently joined the nursery, feel happy and safe. Staff form close attachments with the children, which supports their emotional well-being effectively. They praise children for their good efforts, which motivates them to achieve well.

Staff plan a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes children's communication and language skills effectively. This is particularly beneficial for children whose speech development was affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Children gain increasing confidence in speaking and develop a love of books. Staff teach children to be polite. They encourage children to share and take turns. Children behave well and have positive attitudes to learning. Staff always keep children within their sight and hearing. This ensures children's safety and well-being.

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

• The manager is a dedicated and experienced professional who is well informed about children's needs and the local community. She has fostered a strong sense of teamwork and camaraderie among her staff members. The manager and staff communicate high expectations for all children.
• Partnership with parents is a key strength of the nursery. Parents speak very highly of the education and care their children receive, particularly the support for their social and language development. They talk about the successful information-sharing between the nursery and home, ensuring a consistent approach to children's learning and development.
• Partnership with other professionals is another key strength of the nursery. Staff work closely with various professionals, including their early years adviser, to quickly identify and close gaps in children's learning.
• Staff receive supervision from their management team. They are happy about their roles, which has motivated some staff to gain higher qualifications. However, the monitoring of staff's practice is not as rigorous in identifying their individual training needs, such as those who are inexperienced and less confident, to raise the quality of teaching further.
• Staff use their accurate observations and assessments of children's learning to plan the curriculum. They sing songs and read familiar stories as part of their daily routine. During a group activity, staff encourage children to listen and respond well. Children love to share their thoughts on a story about a girl and three bears, which shows their good levels of understanding.
• Children from all ages, cultures and backgrounds play well together. Babies and toddlers enjoy balancing, walking and running in the garden. Children gain strong physical skills. Older children work together during water play. Children's behaviour is good.
• Overall, staff promote children's healthy lifestyles well. They provide children with nutritious snacks and freshly cooked meals to aid their growth and development. However, some staff do not follow good hygiene routines, particularly after wiping children's noses. This practice does not prevent the spread of germs and the risk of cross-contamination.
• Staff promote children's imagination and creativity well. For example, they encourage children to explore play dough independently. Children take delight in moulding the dough into different shapes. This activity helps children to develop their mathematical skills as they learn about counting and numbers.
• The manager conducts a thorough evaluation of the quality of the services provided. Since the last inspection, she has implemented various programmes to enhance children's communication and language skills. Staff received training to implement these programmes effectively. This has helped to promote children's good progress, particularly those who are disadvantaged. Currently, the manager is reviewing the outdoor curriculum to fully support children who prefer to learn in a natural environment.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• monitor staff more precisely to identify individual training needs to raise their confidence and enhance teaching skills to a higher level
• increase staff's understanding of how to consistently implement good hygiene practices, particularly concerning handwashing.