Cambridge Montessori

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children have developed strong bonds with staff, who provide a welcoming and secure environment where children feel safe. Staff are kind and nurturing, helping children to develop good levels of self-confidence. Children manage their personal care well. They understand how sensible hygiene routines contribute to their good health. Staff caring for babies provide consistent care and respond quickly to babies' needs. They make sure they stay close by, providing babies with a sense of security.

Staff plan good opportunities for outdoor play for children to develop their physical skills. Children enthusiastically scoop and dig in the mud and ride confidently on balance bicycles. Staff speak to children in their home languages, alongside English, and find out key words that are important to them. This supports children to develop their sense of self.

Children's behaviour is good. They listen to others, take turns, and share resources willingly. Staff support children's personal, social, and emotional development well. They lead by example and help children to understand how to show consideration for each other. Older children are confident communicators. They readily engage in conversations with their peers and adults. Babies hear some new words, which helps them to develop their language.

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

• Staff encourage older children's communication skills through purposeful interaction. Children eagerly engage in simple conversations because staff get down to their level, ensuring they pronounce words correctly, and ask questions that develop children's thinking.
• Older children are developing good communication skills. They have acquired a wide vocabulary, which they use readily. Staff talk to children during activities, ensuring they pronounce words correctly, and ask questions that engage children's thinking. Staff working with younger children interact with them. Sometimes, these interactions are not always purposeful, so that children benefit from effective back-and-forth conversations.
• Staff have a good understanding of their children and use this knowledge to help them plan for each child's individual learning needs. In addition, they liaise with other professionals where appropriate, and this helps them to decide what to teach children. All children benefit from a curriculum designed to help them build on their developing knowledge and skills.
• Babies show interest in resources and particularly enjoy climbing up and down small wooden steps. Staff provide sturdy furniture for them to pull themselves up to standing or lean against during play. However, the space for babies is less well organised, which means sometimes they cannot move freely to make the most of the interesting activities on offer.
• Children are highly independent for their young age. They competently manage their personal needs, putting on their coats for outdoor play with minimal support. Staff show children how to complete simple tasks and this helps children to master new skills. For example, after mealtimes children clear their plates away and stack them ready for washing.
• Partnerships with parents are well established and valued. Parents provide very positive comments about their children's experiences at the nursery. They say that staff are approachable and share good information about their children. Parents also say that their children are learning life skills, which they use at home, helping to prepare meals and setting the table.
• Children join in with great enthusiasm, singing familiar songs, which provide them with good opportunities to use their voices. They enjoy listening to stories and staff encourage them to think what happens next.
• The manager offers effective supervision, ensuring staff have regular opportunities for training to enhance their practice. Staff work well together and there is a strong team spirit. They say they feel valued and supported to do a good job. However, systems are not fully established to find ways to help staff working with the youngest children to deepen their knowledge of providing consistently rich learning experiences.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider the organisation of the space for the youngest children, so they can move freely to make the most of the interesting experiences
• continue to monitor the already good practice, encouraging staff to deepen their knowledge and understanding, so that all children benefit from first-rate teaching skills.