Derby Montessori School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children warmly on arrival. Children are happy to attend the nursery and quickly engage in activities demonstrating they are comfortable in their surroundings. Staff develop caring relationships with children and their families. The settling-in process is flexible to provide parents with reassurance that their children are ready to begin attending the nursery. Staff engage with, and encourage children throughout the day. This helps to build children's confidence and resilience and supports children in having a good attitude to learning. For example, staff encourage children to take risks outdoors and use the stilts to balance on. They teach them effectively how to catch a ball and learn how to score in the basketball net. Children jump through hoops and run around the area. This helps to develop their physical skills and strengthen their large muscles.

Staff facilitate role play that allows children to re-enact their lived experiences. Children are highly engaged in their learning during these activities. For instance, children thoroughly enjoy preparing dinner for teddy and feeding him pizza. They wash play pots and pans, carefully placing them on the side to dry. They beam with pride when showing visitors their completed washing-up. During this play, they take turns, share equipment and discuss their home life.

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

• Managers have a clear intent for children's learning. Staff have a good understanding of what this means for their practice and work together to embed the curriculum goals. This means that children are frequently exposed to learning that promotes good development. However, at times, group activities are not planned effectively. Some children do not engage during these times, meaning that they do not gain the same learning experience as others.
• Overall, staff support children's developing language skills well. Staff are particularly effective at holding conversations and asking questions to older children, to help develop their use of language. However, some staff working with the younger children do not model language effectively. They often use the word 'it' rather that refer to the object name. This does not help to extend children's vocabulary.
• Staff provide good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They understand the variety of ways in which children learn and identify when a different process needs to be adopted. Staff work closely with the children, the parents and other professionals to put in place personalised strategies and achievable targets for children to work towards.
• Staff support children's developing independence effectively throughout the nursery. For example, young children learn to wash their hands and clear away their snack bowl. Older children successfully learn to manage their own personal care. Children become adept at tasks, such as putting on their coats and pouring their own drinks. This puts them in good stead for starting school.
• Overall, parents are happy with the care provided to their children. They say their children are happy to come into the nursery and go home happy. Although parents say staff are friendly and approachable, some parents are not familiar with the digital programme used by the nursery and how to access the information about their children from it fully. This means some parents receive a lack of information about how they can build on children's learning at home.
• Staff are good role models for behaviour, consequently children behave well. There is an ethos of care, kindness and respect throughout the nursery. Staff support children to negotiate, solve problems and work together. For example, children negotiate and share ideas when considering the best way to create handprints.
• There are good systems to support and supervise staff, which promotes a low staff turnover and consistently good practice. Managers have a clear process in place for recruitment, induction, supervision and appraisals. Staff say that they feel well supported in their roles. They are knowledgeable about their roles, the curriculum and the children. They speak positively about the opportunities for training, such as learning how to use sign language, which help to further enhance their skills and helps children's communication.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and improve the planning of group activities so all children can experience the same learning opportunities
• support staff to be aware of how they model effective language to young children, to ensure children can extend their vocabulary
• develop ways to ensure that all parents are receiving relevant information about the nursery and their child's current learning, so they can help build continued learning at home.