Clarendon Montessori School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff act as positive role models for children. They remind children to speak kindly and politely to one another, including reminding them to use their manners when they ask their friends to pass them a toy during activities. The staff team work well together and provide children with a calm and welcoming learning environment in which they thrive. Children arrive and wave goodbye to their parents and carers happily, before settling down at an activity of their choosing.

Children enjoy physical activities indoors and outdoors. As they play outside, children practise different sporting activities in preparation for their sports day. They learn to negotiate obstacles and use their bodies to move in different ways. Indoors, children strengthen their hand muscles as they lift and tip water carefully from one container to another. This also promotes their hand-to-eye coordination.

Staff help to prepare children for their move on to school. They regularly speak to children about the upcoming change, promoting discussions about the children's new routines. Staff encourage children to open their own packages and they provide activities where children practise carrying trays in preparation for lunch time at school. These opportunities develop children's independence. They speak to children about their recent visits to their new schools enthusiastically. This helps children to feel positive and prepared for this important transition.

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

• There is a clear curriculum intent that is focused on teaching children the skills they need to gain for their future learning. Staff have a good knowledge of the curriculum and deliver this well. They recognise the key areas to focus on and provide children with different opportunities to gain and practise a range of new skills. These learning opportunities are carefully planned and based on children's interests. The staff team regularly discuss children's progress, so that all staff who work with children know them well.
• Staff adapt their interactions with children to support children's various ages and stages of development. They recognise the value of older children sharing their knowledge with others. For instance, they encourage children to explain to their friends how the funnels they are using work. Small group activities for the youngest children are short and succinct. Staff build a sense of anticipation for children and encourage them to use their emerging language. For instance, staff blow bubbles for children, encouraging them to say 'ready, steady, go'. Children's engagement levels are good so staff repeat this, which provides children with opportunities to practise these relevant words in context.
• Overall, staff interactions with children are positive. However, occasionally staff do not support children to make connections between their various experiences and strengthen their learning further. For example, staff play a song about different ways to manipulate dough as children explore the dough first hand. Staff do not show the children how to complete the different actions that the song mentions, such as squeezing and pinching the dough, to help them understand what is meant.
• Managers demonstrate a good oversight and knowledge of the children and families who attend the nursery. They form strong professional relationships with parents, offering them guidance and support where required to benefit the children. They send home resources to support children's development and this provides children with consistency between home and the nursery. Parents feel well informed about what their children have done during the day.
• Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive good support. Staff know the children well and form meaningful bonds with them all. Work with other professionals is effective, and those staff with more knowledge and experience of supporting children with SEND act as positive role models to their colleagues. They share strategies and ideas with one another to provide a consistent approach to meeting children's individual needs.
• Staff feel well supported in their roles. Managers provide various opportunities for them to develop their professional knowledge. Staff take the initiative to identify additional training themselves, which helps them to build on their already good interactions with children further. Managers are conscious of staff's well-being and make any adaptations needed to support staff at work. This helps all staff feel valued and appreciated.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to provide children with consistent opportunities to make connections between their various learning experiences to strengthen their knowledge and understanding further.