Droxford Montessori School Limited
Droxford Montessori School Limited is a pre-school in Droxford for children aged 2 to 5, with 35 registered places. Ofsted report card, 13 November 2025: Strong standard in 5 areas, Expected standard in 1 area; safeguarding standards met.
Droxford Scout Hut, Park Lane, Droxford, SO32 3QR
Key facts
- Type
- Pre-school (Sessional day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Ages
- 2 to 5 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered places
- 35 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered
- 25 October 2013 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Opening hours
Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:45 - 15:00
Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 13 November 2025
Who runs it
Droxford Montessori School Limited is run by Droxford Montessori School Limited (Ofsted register).
Latest inspection
- Inclusion: Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard
- Achievement: Strong standard
- Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard
- Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard
- Leadership and governance: Expected standard
- Safeguarding standards met
Source: Ofsted, inspection on 13 November 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children enjoy their learning in this welcoming setting and develop positive relationships. They are happy, valued and feel safe. As a result, children separate from their parents or carers with ease and arrive eager to participate in the rich range of experiences available. Children show confidence and enthusiasm as they engage deeply in their chosen activities. Staff know the children's interests well and join them in play, skilfully extending learning through high-quality interactions. Positive and caring relationships underpin children's sense of security and belonging, enabling them to explore with curiosity and independence. Children behave well and consistently demonstrate respect and positive attitudes to learning. Mixed-age groups work harmoniously, share familiar stories and develop communication and language skills that enable them to express their thoughts and feelings. Children explore a wide range of tools and venture into activities that promote risk-taking and problem-solving, all of which help children's physical development as they build strength, coordination and resilience. Staff create an inclusive environment where every child's needs are recognised and met. This enables all children to feel valued and develop positive self-esteem, so they achieve well from their starting points. While leadership demonstrates clear strengths, there is scope to prioritise professional development further to embed continuous improvement and sustain these high standards.
What Ofsted found in each area
Inclusion: Strong standard
Inclusive practice is embedded across the setting. Leaders and staff know children well, so they are aware of children's differences, their circumstances and any emerging needs. This means staff can act quickly to identify and respond to any possible barriers to children's learning and development. This well-established practice gives children, including children with additional needs or those with emerging special educational needs and/or disabilities, better opportunities and richer experiences. Partnerships with professionals are well established to provide continuity for children with additional needs. Leaders proactively seek funding to enhance provision further and provide specific adaptations to meet children's individual needs, where required. Staff collaborate closely with parents, sharing information so they can jointly monitor children's progress and review any changes to the support children may need. Consequently, all children flourish in this setting as a result of well-trained and dedicated staff. Leaders and staff prioritise inclusion and have developed a home-from-home nurturing atmosphere that celebrates children's individuality and helps children to proudly share their lives, families and cultural celebrations with others.
Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard
Leaders understand the quality of the curriculum and teaching. There is a clear, ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum that meets all areas of children's learning and development. Staff create captivating experiences that spark excitement and curiosity and deepen children's learning. For example, a bug activity focuses children's attention and enhances language and mathematical skills. Children excitedly sort, compare and count different items as they scoop them in the tray. Staff check children's learning, purposefully building on what children already know and can do. Staff introduce and model the meaning of new words to widen children's vocabulary. Leaders review the environment regularly, harnessing children's interests, which motivates learning. Staff skilfully enable children to take appropriate risks in their play, such as using real tools during woodwork and climbing large outdoor equipment. Staff provide clear guidance and model safe practices, so children understand and learn how to manage risks independently. This builds children's confidence, resilience and physical skills, including strength, coordination and balance. Staff know children very well and strike an effective balance between supervision and allowing children autonomy, fostering decision-making and problem-solving while maintaining safety. Staff weave mathematical ideas into play and daily routines, helping children gain confidence and enjoy using mathematical language. Staff deliver targeted teaching that addresses gaps in children's learning effectively, especially through focused one-to-one support or small group activities. Staff tailor learning experiences to meet individual children's needs, ensuring all children feel respected and supported to achieve their best.
Achievement: Strong standard
All children consistently make strong progress across all areas of learning and development. This includes children with additional needs or those the setting is making adjustments for in their daily routine or activities. Children are well prepared for their next stage and to leave the setting with secure foundations for future learning, including independence and confidence. Children's communication and language skills develop well from their different starting points. Children confidently express their ideas and engage in meaningful conversations with peers and staff. Children develop high levels of curiosity and concentration as they focus their attention in different activities. Children develop resilience and perseverance as they complete puzzles and build with colourful shapes to construct tall structures and models. Children develop independence and thrive on the praise and support staff provide to achieve this in daily routines, such as snack time and tidying up. Children learn to be kind and helpful, developing positive social skills.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard
Leaders support children's positive behaviour through well-established routines and by promoting regular attendance, while considering children's individual needs. Children stay consistently motivated to learn. Key-person arrangements work well. Staff build secure and trusting relationships that give children the confidence to explore. Staff consistently promote self-care and independence, creating confident, capable learners. For example, young children follow familiar routines to wash their own bowls and cups after snack and learn the skills they need for dressing themselves for outdoor play. Older children help younger children find their cups and equipment. Trusting relationships with staff give children the security and confidence to learn independently and assess and take managed risks for themselves. Leaders set clear expectations that children understand, so they behave consistently well and listen attentively. Staff gently support children to understand these and to respect one another. This approach enables children to resolve minor conflicts constructively and maintain harmonious relationships. Staff skilfully model communication, helping children to express their feelings. As a result, children feel safe, respected and motivated to engage fully in their learning.
Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard
Leaders prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing throughout the setting. Staff have a secure understanding of children's individual needs and adapt routines to support children's comfort and independence. For example, staggered settling-in periods for younger children help them to feel secure and enable families to receive tailored support. Staff consistently model good manners and hygiene practices. They follow care routines sensitively that meet children's individual needs. Children's opinions are highly valued. Staff encourage children to make their own choices and frequently empower children to contribute their ideas. Staff positively promote healthy choices and encourage physical activity through daily outdoor play and highly enriching experiences, including cooking, gardening in the allotment and yoga sessions. These activities support children's physical development and wellbeing. Through careful trial and error, children learn to master a range of physical skills, for example creating their own obstacles and learning how to distribute their weight for safer balance. Leaders effectively maintain a proactive and personalised approach to supporting children and families as their needs change. For example, staff promptly adapt the environment, timetables and resources to help support positive engagement in attendance, learning and wellbeing. Staff effectively and sensitively create consistent routines and safe spaces that help children learn to cope with their emotions. This strong sense of emotional security enables children to engage positively with peers, maintain harmonious relationships and thrive in their learning environment.
Leadership and governance: Expected standard
Leaders demonstrate a clear vision and understanding of the setting's strengths and priorities for development. They have created a positive reflective culture where staff feel valued and supported through regular discussions and supervision sessions. Leaders monitor staff workload and provide effective support, particularly to those newer to their role. This ensures that staff understand their responsibilities and the standards expected. Leaders make decisions in the best interests of children, adapting routines and provision to meet individual needs. Staff maintain effective relationships with families and work collaboratively to ensure continuity of care. Leaders show a commitment to continuous improvement. However, staff's professional development is mainly focused on mandatory training, such as paediatric first aid and safeguarding. Leaders acknowledge the need to broaden opportunities for high-quality learning to widen staff's knowledge and expertise to raise outcomes even further. Leaders and staff work well with parents to ensure children receive high-quality care and education. Parents value the support they receive and praise the staff for the range of experiences available. Leaders monitor the curriculum to ensure it meets the needs of all children, including those on the pathway to requiring additional support, so that every child achieves the best possible start in education.
What the setting must and should do next
The provider should:
- Leaders should strengthen opportunities for reflections on practice to inform staff's professional development and embed the culture of continuous improvement, further enhancing staff expertise.
Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 13 November 2025. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Inspection history
Ofsted report cards (England, from November 2025)
Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has graded nurseries and pre-schools on a report card. There is no single overall grade. Instead, each of six areas gets one of five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, Urgent improvement.
The six areas are inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children's welfare and wellbeing; leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged on its own, as met or not met.
Expected standard means the setting does what Ofsted expects of every setting. Strong standard and Exceptional are above that; Needs attention and Urgent improvement mean Ofsted found things the setting has to put right.
Source: Ofsted reports
Funded childcare hours in England
All 3 and 4 year olds in England can get 15 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year.
Working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year (Free Childcare for Working Parents), if they meet the earnings rules. You confirm your details every 3 months.
Some 2 year olds can get 15 hours a week when the family gets certain kinds of extra support.
The hours are used at a registered provider that offers them, so ask each nursery how it offers the funded hours.
Source: GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, check if you're eligible · GOV.UK: Free childcare and education for 2 to 4 year olds (checked 31 October 2026)
Other nurseries nearby
- The Valley Preschool - Pre-school, Southampton SO32 3NJ, ages 2 to 4, 24 places, 1.0 milesOfsted report card, 21 April 2026: Strong standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met
- Swanmore Pre-School - Day nursery, Southampton SO32 2PA, ages 2 to 4, 26 places, 2.2 milesOfsted, 27 June 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
Schools nearby
- Droxford Junior School - Primary, under 0.1 miles
- Meonstoke Church of England Infant School - Primary, 1.0 miles