Kinderworld Montessori Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and content. They thoroughly enjoy their time at nursery and separate from parents easily. They are excited to greet their key person with a cuddle. They feel safe and secure and staff know the children and families well. Children confidently select activities and know that staff are there for reassurance and support when needed. They benefit from a wide range of enjoyable activities and experiences across all areas of learning and development, indoors and outdoors. The staff team plan activities that interest and excite children. For example, in the pre-school room, children set up tents to extend imaginative play after some children had recently had the experience of camping.

Staff have high expectations for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children behave well and know the routine of the day at nursery. Staff are aware of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children's social and emotional development and have put strategies in place to support this. For example, a staff member has been trained in supporting children with their emotional health. She adds well-being strategies to their daily routine, such as positive affirmations and things that make us special.

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

• Staff plan a curriculum that follows children's interests and considers what children need to learn next. Children are enthusiastic and have a positive attitude to their learning. For example, children discuss the ingredients needed when making dough. They consider the texture as they make the dough and are encouraged to think about whether they need more flour or water to make the dough, deciding what it will do as they add it to the water. Children make good progress in their learning and development, including children with SEND.
• Partnership with parents is good. Information about their child's daily routine is shared with parents on collection. Children's developmental assessments are completed and shared with parents via an online application. However, some parents do not understand what this information means for their child's development. This limits the specific targets that parents can support at home.
• Children's language development is well supported, for example children participate in communication group time. They are encouraged to use their language skills during the activity. Staff repeat words and model language using correct pronunciation. Communication and language is promoted well.
• Staff benefit from regular staff meetings and supervisions. The staff feel supported in their professional development. For example, a staff member finished her degree and was able to change her working hours while she was studying. This has helped to extend her already good practice and share this with less-experienced staff members. However, the leadership and management team has not yet implemented fully effective coaching and training to support all staff, to build on their knowledge and teaching skills.
• Children have access to outdoors. Babies have access to an area which has been planned to support all areas of their development. They explore a large, covered sand pit, which allows them to immerse their whole bodies in exploring the sand. Staff encourage children's physical skills outdoors, giving them opportunities to build on their growing physical skills.
• Babies and children enjoy healthy snacks, such as fresh fruit. Children discuss the fruit they are eating and excitedly share what they like and dislike. Staff organise mealtimes well to support children's early independence and social skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen supervision, training and coaching to identify staff's training needs promptly and raise the quality of education to a consistently high level
• be more specific on what information is shared with parents, to ensure there is a sharp focus on how they support their children's further learning at home.