Best Start Nurseries @ St Marys Montessori

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children in the pre-school room receive gentle reminders from staff to use good manners. For example, they ask them what they need to say when they receive food. Children say 'thank you' and receive praise from staff for being polite. Children are supported to take responsibility for keeping the environment tidy. For example, staff give children in the baby rooms specific toys and ask them to put these away. Children in the pre-school room understand why they need to tidy away toys, saying that if they do not put them away, they might fall over.

Children's physical skills are supported well by staff. For example, in the baby room, staff hold onto children's hands when they begin to walk and attempt to climb onto low-level steps. This contributes to supporting their safety, balance and coordination. In the toddler room, staff help children to learn how to develop the muscles in their hands. For example, they show children how to roll dough in between their hands for children to copy. Children in the pre-school room are supported by staff to develop their knowledge of shapes. For example, when children recognise a rectangle, staff ask them to look around the room to find the same shape. Children are excited to do this and share their thoughts with staff.

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

• The manager and staff focus on supporting children's communication and language skills. For example, in the toddler room, staff read stories to children, asking them to finish the end of sentences they read and to recall what happens next. This helps to engage children and develop their listening and attention skills.
• Children learn skills for the future, including to be independent. For example, in the baby room, staff provide children with a step, so they can reach the sink. They support children to wash their hands by themselves. In the pre-school room, staff ask children to serve their lunch and pour their own drinks, helping them to manage portion sizes.
• The manager and staff reflect on their practice, identifying improvements to increase opportunities for children. Recent changes include dividing the baby room into two areas, one for younger children and one for older children. This improvement is to promote children's safety, especially for those children who are non-mobile, helping to reduce potential hazards when older children want to be more active.
• The manager supports her staff well, for example, through supervision and appraisal meetings. Staff extend their professional development. For example, all room leaders complete training to support their knowledge of how to identify and support children with additional needs.
• Children are keen to join activities staff plan for them. However, occasionally, when staff in the toddler and pre-school rooms intend to support certain aspects of children's learning during planned activities, they do not carry this out in practice. This means that some children are not able to learn as much as possible. One example of this is when staff in the toddler room plan to support children's understanding of how ice melts, this is not fully achieved.
• Staff share information with parents about their children's care routines and learning. They give parents information about how they can continue to support their children's learning at home. For example, staff suggest books they can read to their children to help prepare them for transitioning from wearing nappies to using the toilet. This helps to provide a united approach to supporting children's development.
• Staff ask parents to bring photos that show family members and special events at home. They use these photos to share with children their different life experiences. This is particularly beneficial for children who speak English as an additional language. For example, staff talk to children about their own cultures and traditions, helping to give them a sense of belonging in the nursery.
• Overall, staff promote positive behaviour well. However, staff in the toddler room do not always help children to understand the boundaries that are in place. For example, when children start to run in the corridor indoors, staff do not consistently ask them to use their walking feet, which is one of the rules that are in place. This may confuse children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff in the toddler and pre-school rooms to develop the implementation of planned activities to reflect the identified learning intention for the children taking part
• help staff in the toddler room to be consistent when supporting children to understand the rules and boundaries that are in place.