Bluebell Montessori School Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive eager to start their day. They thoroughly enjoy their time at this Montessori setting and easily separate from parents. Children are warmly welcomed by a friendly and nurturing staff team. They happily come straight into a well-organised and safe environment. Children have good relationships with staff. They enjoy engaging in and initiating conversations with them as they use their imaginations in the role-play area. Children develop a variety of independence skills. Staff encourage them to complete age-appropriate tasks with minimal assistance. They tidy away resources used for activities and confidently put on their coats and shoes before playing outdoors. This prepares children well for the routines of school. Children have plenty of opportunities to explore messy activities. These activities help them to strengthen their small muscles. They happily join in with mark making and painting activities. Staff are skilled at introducing children to early writing, when appropriate.

Staff work towards their ethos of supporting children to become happy, independent, confident and sociable. This supports children to develop good values for later in life. Children behave well. Staff have clear expectations about behaviour and consistently support children to work together, take turns and use manners. Children help each other to complete the large puzzle and take turns to complete the pink tower. Staff offer constant praise and encouragement, which supports children's self-esteem. As a result, the setting is a happy place.

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

• Children develop good language skills. Staff communicate regularly with children and help them to expand their vocabulary. They introduce new words and explain their meaning to extend children's understanding. Children learn to repeat phrases as they join in during story time, use new words and confidently ask questions. Staff use questions to encourage children to develop their thinking skills and share ideas.
• The Montessori setting fully embraces diversity and uniqueness. Staff celebrate a range of religious festivals that are special to the children in their care, including Diwali, Christmas and Ramadan. Parents are invited in and bring in cultural food, and children come to the setting dressed in their cultural clothes.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language have appropriate support in place. Staff closely monitor children and work with professionals to ensure that children receive focused support. Staff support parents to access parenting courses, which helps to improve their understanding of how to support their child. This helps children to make the best possible progress they can from their starting points.
• Staff promote children's well-being and health. They work with parents to ensure that children's packed lunches contain healthy food. Children practise important hygiene routines, such as washing their hands. This supports children's physical health well.
• Children are kind and considerate towards one another, cooperating well during activities. Staff are consistent in their approach to behaviour management. They support children's understanding of inappropriate behaviour by explaining the impact their actions may have on others.
• Staff provide plenty of opportunities for children to develop their physical skills. Children learn to navigate space as they run in the garden. They develop their balance as they jump hurdles. Children strengthen the muscles in their hands by using scissors, tweezers and spoons to pick up pasta, as well as small jugs to transfer rice. This helps children to make good progress in their physical development.
• The manager and staff are passionate about delivering good-quality care and education to the children, following a curriculum based on the Montessori philosophy. They gather information from parents to support children when they first start. This helps them to understand what children need to learn next. However, occasionally, the sequence of some adult-led activities is not always implemented effectively. For example, children explore fruit and vegetable flashcards, but staff miss opportunities to develop their knowledge. This means children do not fully benefit from the intended learning opportunities.
• The manager has a clear vision for the setting's future, as well as what she wants the children to learn in each classroom. Staff comment that the manager is available to offer well-being assistance as needed. However, the management of staff's performance is not sharply focused on developing some inconsistencies in staff's practice, to raise the quality of the overall provision further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the sequence of the curriculum so that planned activities consistently build on what the children already know and can do
• develop staff's understanding of how to improve their interactions with children to deepen their engagement in activities and extend their learning even further.