Blue Butterfly Montessori

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show that they are very happy, safe and settled in this warm and welcoming nursery. For instance, babies happily put their arms up to staff to be cuddled. Older children seek out their key person to read a story with. Staff plan a curriculum which challenges children. They think carefully about the skills that they want children to learn. For example, staff organise activities to help children develop the physical skills they need for later writing. Babies enjoy experiencing different tastes and textures with watermelon. They play with their families with the sensory packs, blowing bubbles and squishing with water. Toddlers show their delight when digging outside with the mud, or carefully bathing their babies in the water tray. Older children begin to make meaningful marks using a range of writing implements. Many children can write their names and read simple words.

Staff encourage all children to behave well. Children happily share, take turns and play cooperatively together. When the nursery was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, staff made sure that they kept in touch with children and their families. They kept in contact and shared ideas with parents to extend their children's learning at home. This helped children to continue to develop and a smooth transition to settle them back in.

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

• Staff watch children closely to find out what they know and can do. They plan activities to follow children's interests and support their next phase in their development. Parents receive lots of information about their children's progress. They have daily discussions with staff and have access to an online assessment system which they really appreciate. This helps to keep parents up to date with their children's learning.
• Children have many opportunities to explore and investigate using a range of different materials. Babies excitedly clap and move in time to nursery rhyme songs. Toddlers concentrate as they pour the water from one container to another. Older children become 'scientists' when they use magnifying glasses to investigate fossils. They are curious about the lives of dinosaurs, asking questions about how they lived and what they ate.
• Staff recognise that children had limited opportunities to develop their large-physical skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. They plan lots of activities for children to develop their skills in this area. For example, older children practise different ways of moving, speeding with their scooters and bikes, while toddlers crawl, climb and slide down large play apparatus.
• Children's language development is developing well. Staff repeat the sounds back that babies make and encourage them to join in with rhymes and songs. They provide a commentary on older children's play and introduce new letters and sounds. Older children ask each other questions during their 'show-and-tell' sessions. Staff attend training to help develop their understanding of phonological awareness further to benefit children.
• Staff feel well supported by managers and are happy in their roles. They have access to training to extend their knowledge. Staff receive good support from an external adviser, the franchise group and strong links with local schools. For example, recently, they discussed ways to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Managers recognise that staff would benefit from a wider range of professional development opportunities to explore the more recent changes to early years practice.
• Children understand how to keep themselves healthy. They learn about good dental hygiene and the importance of eating a good diet. Children enjoy healthy and home-cooked meals in the nursery. They learn how plants grow and why it is important to look after the environment. Children care for their belongings by storing them in their 'peg-pockets'. Staff extend and widen their experiences as they sing songs in French, borrow books from the library and learn computing skills. However, staff do not consistently teach older children about online safety.
• Staff and children learn from each other about various festivals and the wide variety of cultures that they come from. They share vocabulary in different languages, such as Italian and Romanian. This helps to support children who speak those languages at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• explore a wider range of professional development opportunities for staff so that the quality of education is maximised
• help older children to develop an understanding of online safety.