Iverna Gardens Montessori

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a warm and friendly welcome to all children and their families on arrival. Staff engage in conversations with children at their level and exchange messages with parents. This ensures children's voices are valued and staff are updated to support children's well-being effectively. Leaders and staff in the nursery radiate a community atmosphere where parents and children feel a sense of belonging. Staff provide a safe and nurturing space where children feel safe and secure.

Staff plan and provide a well-sequenced curriculum that promotes the Montessori ethos. The activities cover all areas of learning, including children's interests, and builds on their knowledge. Children enjoy their time at nursery and eagerly engage in inviting activities. For example, younger children extend their imagination as they create objects from dough and use tools to extend their fine motor skills. Older children use a variety of materials to make carriages and join them together using a needle and thread to make a train.

Staff provide additional support and adapt activities to ensure they provide an inclusive environment. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) participate in activities and have their needs met. Children behave well and show a positive attitude to their learning.

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

• Leaders and staff work together to plan topics that are shared with parents. These provide children with a broad range of first-hand experiences. Staff gather detailed information when children start to strengthen their understanding of each child's development. They use observations and assessments to track children's progress and address any gaps in learning.
• Strong partnerships with parents are a strength of the nursery. Parents say that their children enjoy attending and that staff know their children well. Communication is excellent and parents are kept updated on their children's progress and next steps, including ideas to continue learning at home. Parents state that their children excel with their communication, independence and self-help skills.
• Overall, staff promote children's language and communication well. They engage children in conversations, introduce new vocabulary and encourage children to extend their sentences. Staff sing with children and enthusiastically share stories. However, staff do not consistently give children time to think and respond to questions or challenge their critical thinking skills further.
• Staff support children to be independent and learn to take responsibility for the resources and the environment. For example, children practise practical life activities, such as doing up buckles, which extend their fine motor skills. Children tidy away when they have finished and return the activities. They pour drinks and peel fruit for snack time. Staff teach children to dispose of the waste in the food compost bin. Children learn to water plants and help to grow vegetables.
• Staff role model expected behaviour and support children to understand the nursery rules. They regularly use praise and encouragement and promote good manners. Staff talk to children about their emotions and help them to sort any minor conflicts, learning to be kind to their peers. Children know the routine well. They listen to adults and behave well.
• Children learn about the importance of looking after their bodies and following healthy lifestyles. Staff encourage children to develop their physical skills as they ride trikes and jump in and out of numbered hoops. Children eat nutritional food and follow good hygiene routines. Staff supervise children to clean their teeth and develop good oral health.
• Leaders and staff ensure the curriculum is accessible to all children. They promote a culture of diversity and inclusion. Leaders work with other professionals to ensure that children with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language benefit from their individual learning. Staff help children to learn about a range of festivals from other cultures and teach children about their local community and the wider world.
• Leaders follow safer recruitment procedures and monitor staff's practice. All staff have supervision sessions and reflect on their strengths and areas for professional development. Leaders and staff evaluate views from parents to help them make further improvements.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's interactions during activities to use effective techniques to challenge and extend children's thinking and understanding further.