Headstart Montessorians Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff within the nursery are highly qualified, extremely passionate and enthusiastic. This is embodied in the way staff warmly welcome children into the nursery and interact with them through the day. Staff create an exciting range of opportunities for children through an extremely ambitious and challenging curriculum. Children happily and confidently explore, showing sustained levels of concentration in all areas of their learning.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. They are incredible kind and thoughtful towards each other. Babies and younger children greet each other with cuddles and smiles. Older children show care and concern for their peers when they hurt themselves. When children lose their hats while running around the garden, other children immediate pick them up for them and return them. Staff are excellent role models. They demonstrate to children how to negotiate any minor conflicts independently, and children use these skills expertly. They politely tell each other they were sitting somewhere first or had a certain resource but will pass it over when finished.

The provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is excellent. Staff work closely with other agencies and parents to ensure that children are exceptionally well supported and make progress from their starting points in development.

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

• Managers and staff are extremely knowledgeable about the individual needs of children. They recognise the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children's learning and development. Staff recognise what children already know and what they need to learn next. They are very quick to identify where there may be gaps in children's learning and work swiftly to close these. Staff acknowledge areas where children may be excelling and are ready for further challenge. They work to ensure that the curriculum is flexible to help every child reach their full potential.
• The curriculum to develop children's communication and language is outstanding. Even the youngest babies and children can communicate their wants and needs. Babies use gestures, such as holding out their sleeve to show staff it is wet after water play and they want to be changed. Younger children use Makaton signs to indicate they are finished their meal or would like more. Children develop new vocabulary quickly and converse with each other and staff fluently. They share ideas and talk about what is important to them.
• Children are extremely independent. They are confident in the environment to take care of their self-care needs, choose where they would like to play and begin to manage risks. Children are extremely resilient and have a strong can-do attitude. Staff are full of praise and encouragement for children, while letting them know they are nearby if they would like help.
• Staff promote healthy lifestyles expertly. As children wait for their meals, they discuss what they may have, the nutritional value of the food they are eating and how to make healthy choices. Children take part in cooking activities, such as making fruit salads and cheese straws. They taste and smell the different ingredients, which helps to widen their exposure to different foods. Staff promote children's oral health. For example, they encourage children to brush their teeth daily after lunch. Staff have conversations with parents about the importance of regularly visiting the dentist.
• Partnership with parents is excellent. Parents speak extremely highly of the nursery and the impact it has had on their children's overall learning and development. Parents feel very well informed and comment that communication from staff is excellent. They feel staff are proactive in working with them to support children's individual needs.
• Staff feel exceptionally well supported. Managers support them to continue their own professional development through various means of further training. The manager had developed several initiatives, such as the 'Wednesday club' and 'working lunches', where she makes herself available to staff. She allows staff to set the agenda, alongside the standard room and whole staff meetings and supervision sessions. The manager has a deep oversight of the strengths of her team and how she can continue to build on these.