Blackheath Montessori Centre

Inclusion: Strong standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well from their starting points. They settle well, form strong attachments with the staff and enjoy learning. Leaders support children in adapting to routines. Staff adjust teaching and resources to meet children's individual needs.

Designated leaders make observations of what children know and can do. They assist practitioners in implementing interventions and gather evidence to support children's needs. Children with SEND are encouraged to achieve their next steps using individual strategies, such as a personal marble jar. Parents support this strategy and encourage children to continue using it at home. Parents of children with SEND are delighted with their children's progress. Designated leaders work with outside agencies, previous settings and schools to support children's needs, ensuring that learning is tailored effectively to meet children's individual needs and close any gaps in their learning. For example, children with SEND join the setting, not talking. As a result of partnership working and ongoing support from speech therapists, children now talk. Leaders personalise transitions so that children settle quickly. For example, leaders encourage parents to attend with children until they feel calm, happy and confident enough to talk. This helps children reach milestones in preparation for their next stage of learning. As a result of funding, the nursery benefits from an additional staff member to support children's needs, as well as a table and chairs to facilitate learning and accommodate education, health and care plan requirements.

Leaders and practitioners consistently make a demonstrable difference to children with SEND. The changes they make help remove barriers children might face.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders provide a highly impactful curriculum, following the Montessori approach, which is consistently taught well. All children are prepared for their next stage of learning, school and beyond. Practitioners equip children with the knowledge and skills to develop secure foundations for learning. High-quality interactions are embedded, and children learn in a calm environment supported by practitioners who know them well. Learning is tailored to meet children's individual needs and interests. Progress is rigorously monitored, and next steps are set to extend children's skills. As a result, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face barriers to learning make rapid progress from their starting points. All children, including those with SEND, consistently achieve.

Practitioners use clear instructions and explain what children are learning and why. Children are encouraged to sit and listen attentively, and they independently choose learning from 'the shelf'. Children with SEND are encouraged to make choices and extend their learning through questioning. For example, they select sound boxes, and practitioners ask questions to encourage them to compare sounds.

Leaders and practitioners have high expectations for children's learning. They prioritise skills across the curriculum, including physical and personal, social and emotional development. Children create splash paintings for Holi, developing fine motor control, and engage in sports and dance with specialist teachers.

Mathematics is woven into collaborative learning, such as counting earned marbles, describing textures, and recalling prior learning. Practitioners continuously talk to children to expand their thinking, knowledge and ideas. As a result, children are ready for school, and gaps in learning close.

Achievement: Strong standard

All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face barriers to learning, routinely make independent choices for learning across all areas of the curriculum and consistently achieve well from their starting points. Children learn to develop social skills as they play with friends. They develop gross motor skills, such as throwing balls into basketball hoops, climbing on equipment, sliding down slides and travelling across obstacles. They develop small-muscle skills, such as building with construction in the sand and manipulating play dough into shapes, as they represent the festival of colour, 'Holi'. Children explore pouring sand into measured containers. They count objects, recognise numbers, develop mathematical language and extend imaginative play. Children independently look at books, confidently talk about what they are learning, and recognise their own and their friends' names. They practise mark making and letter formation and learn to write their names. Leaders and practitioners prepare children very well for their next stage of learning and school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and practitioners consistently create a harmonious environment in which children flourish and thrive. They establish high expectations for routines, behaviour and attitudes, all of which are embedded in the setting. Leaders and practitioners use the 'Be rules' approach, which focuses on the positive behaviour that they want to see. For example, 'walking feet'. This encourages children to consistently strive to show positive attitudes to learning.

Children behave well and form positive relationships with their friends and staff. Leaders and practitioners encourage all children to develop positive attitudes towards behaviour and learning in line with their age and stage of development. For example, practitioners use a marble jar to encourage children to develop positive attitudes to learning. This supports collaborative learning. Children choose their reward and work together as a team to earn the marbles. It is an inclusive, visual strategy that supports all children to achieve, particularly children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face barriers to learning. Children feel proud of their achievements and see how well they are doing collecting marbles as a group.

Consistent, embedded positive routines that promote learning for all children, particularly children with SEND and those who face barriers to learning, help remove obstacles to attendance. Children's regular attendance significantly impacts learning. This leads to steady progress and achievement for all children.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders embed routines that encourage children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face barriers to learning, to develop long-lasting, healthy habits. They teach children about healthy food choices and provide a range of nutritious meals that meet individual needs, including special dietary requirements. Practitioners serve lunch and involve children as helpers, giving plates to peers. Children develop independence and self-help skills, learning to use a knife and fork, pour drinks, and clear their plates. Practitioners sit with children during mealtimes to promote safe eating and reinforce routines. The 'eat well' plate is used effectively to develop children's understanding of food groups, and children can confidently explain why different foods are needed.

Lunchtimes are calm, and practitioners are highly responsive to children's emotional wellbeing. They talk to children about their feelings and what makes them happy, which supports independent emotional regulation. Leaders help children with SEND manage their emotions by using their favourite songs to create a calm, enjoyable atmosphere. All children benefit from listening to music while they eat.

Practitioners also support physical and emotional health through hygiene routines. Children wash their hands before eating and after toileting, and staff encourage independence. Nappy changes are carried out privately, with staff using these moments to develop communication and language. Children who nap have individual mattresses and sleeping bags in a quiet, supervised room. Secure, caring attachments between practitioners and children help children flourish and feel safe and cared for.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders' knowledge of their strengths and areas for development drives improvements and ensures excellent outcomes for all children. They have focused on improving practice across the setting, making the nursery a popular choice for parents. Funding is used effectively to provide high-quality training and enhance provision in rooms and staff areas.

Leaders and practitioners prioritise learning about children and their families. Parent partnerships are highly effective, and communication is embedded across the setting. Parents regularly attend special events, annual trips and fundraising activities. Positive interactions between staff and parents support children's learning, behaviour and development, aiding progress and smooth transitions to school.

Leaders support practitioners in accessing professional learning and expertise training. Practitioners are highly qualified and are supported to retrain via experience-based routes or a Montessori diploma funded by the nursery. Leaders encourage further training in special educational needs and/or disabilities to support all children's needs. New practitioners receive an effective induction and feel confident approaching leaders when needed.

Leaders and practitioners are ambitious for children's outcomes. They carry out checks to ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children. Children are well prepared for school, and they are grouped in the setting in a way that encourages them to learn from one another and develop independence, collaboration, and social skills.