Eilmar Montessori Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and are eager to join their friends in the range of exciting activities the nursery has to offer. Staff develop strong bonds with babies and children, forming relationships that are warm and respectful. This gives children a sense of security and confidence. Staff provide an enabling environment that supports children to develop skills across all areas of learning. They implement a well sequenced curriculum that builds effectively on children's interests and starting points. For example, children show an interest in gardening and nature. Staff build on children's interests by involving them in watering the flower and vegetable garden, shredding lettuce with their fingers, and using scissors and knives to cut herbs, helping to develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Staff provide safety reminders, it helps children to handle tools safely and understand the importance of safety. Babies and children benefit from enriching experiences beyond the nursery. For example, staff identify that some children do not use public transport. They arrange a trips on the buses and trains for children to enjoy and enhance their understanding of the world and the community around them.

Staff support children well as they prepare for their move to school. Babies and children develop growing independence and self-help skills. For example, babies are encouraged to feed themselves, while older children set up snack and tables, prepare their own snack, serve themselves at lunch, clean up their plates after snack times and dry and put away cutlery. Children behave well. They follow daily routines confidently and respond well to instructions. Staff model positive behaviour and use consistent strategies to support children to understand their emotions. Children learn to share, take turns and negotiate with their peers during play. Staff set clear boundaries and use gentle redirection to manage any unwanted behaviour effectively.

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

• Leaders and staff demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of early childhood development. They plan and implement a play-based curriculum that is broad and balanced. Staff plan activities that align with children's interests and ignite their curiosity. For example, When staff notice babies enjoying water play, they provide ice, spoons, and containers. Babies stay highly engaged as they crush ice, scoop melted water, and taste it, developing sensory awareness and investigative skills.
• Staff frequently observe children and make use of this knowledge to provide children with activities linked to their interests and development stage. The curriculum is varied and engaging, covering all areas of development. However, there are fewer opportunities for babies and young children to extend their counting and understanding of number sequences as they play.
• Staff are good role models for children's language development. They engage children in meaningful conversations, ask open-ended questions and allow time for children to think and respond. This supports children's confidence in expressing themselves and extends their vocabulary. Babies and toddlers enjoy joining in with familiar rhymes and songs, developing their listening and language skills.
• Staff promote healthy lifestyles by ensuring children spend time outdoors daily, enjoying fresh air and physical activity. They teach children about healthy eating and provide varied opportunities to develop physical skills through activities like obstacle courses, yoga, and imaginative play. Children confidently use age-appropriate equipment, such as babies climb soft play shapes while toddlers practice walking on a cardboard "plank" to avoid "shark-infested waters," building strength, balance, coordination, and confidence.
• Staff implement 'golden rules' that help children to understand what is expected of them. Children behave well in the setting. They respond respectfully to instructions given to them by staff and happily follow the routines established within the setting.
• Staff have supervision meetings in which managers monitor performance and set targets for improvement. Staff complete all mandatory training, and professional development opportunities are available. Overall, managers provide effective support to staff who already exhibit strong teaching skills. However, to enhance this further, implementing a more strategically focused professional development plan would strengthen teaching quality and help maximise outcomes for children.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents speak positively about the care and support their children receive and feel confident in the staff's ability to meet their child's individual needs. Staff maintain open and effective communication, keeping parents well informed about their child's daily experiences and developmental progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the implementation of mathematics to support babies and younger children to use numbers and counting during their play
• support and focus training and professional development for all staff to further improve the quality of the already good teaching.