Julia's Montessori Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and excited to come to the nursery. Staff greet them warmly, and they demonstrate through their behaviours and actions that they feel safe and secure. Children enjoy the interesting variety of carefully planned activities on offer. Staff know children well and use their ongoing assessments to ensure that they provide a curriculum that is both challenging and personalised to children's individual needs. Children make noticeable progress from their starting points and are ready for their next stages in learning.

Staff help children to understand the importance of showing respect for each other. They model and highlight kind and caring behaviours throughout the nursery. Staff and children work together to devise their 'rainbow rules', which include being polite, looking after each other and sharing. Children respond well to the strategies staff use to support them in following these rules. For example, staff use the visual support of sand timers to help children to understand the importance of turn-taking and sharing with friends.

Children enjoy self-selecting books to look at in the cosy reading corner. Staff use factual books to teach children all about the different sea creatures in the water tray. Children enjoy listening to a range of familiar stories. They respond well to questions and demonstrate high levels of concentration. The lending library allows children to take books home to share with their parents and carers. This promotes a love for reading.

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

• Staff ensure that children have a range of activities to support them to be physically active. They teach children the importance of a healthy diet as part of a healthy lifestyle. Children enjoy negotiating space when riding on bikes and in pedal cars. They use large construction blocks to make towers and practise balancing on stepping stones. Children enjoy a range of fruits at snack time and engage in conversations about healthy choices.
• There is a range of activities on offer that supports children's mathematical development. For example, children enjoy using differently sized containers and spoons to fill balancing scales with sand. Staff support children as they introduce them to the vocabulary of 'heavier' and 'lighter'. Children problem-solve by adding and removing the sand to balance the scales. Staff offer high praise when the children succeed.
• Children have some opportunities to develop their independence. They hang their coats and bags up on arrival and find their name cards to self-register. However, more could be done to further support children with their independence in the area of self-care, such as when washing their hands, wiping their noses and preparing their food and drinks for snack time.
• Children are supported to develop their small-muscle skills in preparation for writing. They enjoy manipulating play dough with cutters and rolling pins, gluing and painting autumn leaves and placing small puzzle pieces into jigsaws.
• Staff support children to regulate their behaviour by reminding them to 'use their words' when they are upset. Staff use emotion books to support children in managing their feelings. However, staff are not always consistent in reinforcing behaviour expectations to children. This results in children not always being sure of socially acceptable ways to behave. For example, staff do not always remind children of the importance of moving safely around the nursery, tidying away finished work and being patient and waiting for their turn to talk to an adult.
• Parents are delighted with the communication they receive from the nursery. They report that the experienced staff are kind and know their children well. They are fully aware of how their children are developing and are given regular advice on how to support learning at home.
• The experienced manager makes excellent use of external agencies to further support children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). She works alongside staff to develop targeted plans for all children. Staff report that they engage in regular supervision meetings with the manager and their staff meetings are informative and support them in developing their professional practice.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• be consistent when reinforcing behaviour expectations to ensure that children fully understand safe and socially acceptable ways to behave
• further develop opportunities for children to develop their independence in the area of self-care.