Les Petites Etoiles Bilingual Montessori – West Hampstead

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are extremely happy and settled at this inspirational nursery. Friendly and caring staff ensure that they know every child incredibly well. They form close relationships with the children and children thrive from the care they receive from their key person. These relationships help children to feel safe and emotionally secure.

The manager and the staff are deeply ambitious and have created a well-thought-out curriculum with high expectations for all children. The curriculum is well sequenced to build on children's existing knowledge and skills. This supports all children to continue their rapid development. Staff adapt how they teach to meet the individual needs of each child, and every child is cherished. Staff foster a wonderful learning environment where children love to learn.

Children's behaviour is excellent and staff are marvellous role models for children. Staff consistently show children how to be respectful of others and model excellent ways of communicating with each other. Children know what is expected of them and confidently choose what they want to play with. The manager and the staff care very much about the children, and their families, and this warmth cascades throughout the nursery.

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

• Children thrive in this language-rich environment and all children develop superb communication skills. Children understand and speak both English and French throughout the day. They adeptly switch between languages and are confident speakers. Children also benefit from access to Mandarin-speaking staff. Natural conversation takes place with them as they engage in their everyday activities. Skilled staff use a range of techniques to further develop additional languages from home and children respond very well to them.
• Highly qualified staff skilfully interact with the children at all times. All children show exceptionally high levels of concentration and participate enthusiastically in their activities. Knowledgeable staff successfully adapt learning opportunities for different children. They intuitively support children to make progress while they play. For example, a collection of rainwater falls from the roof. Staff encourage children to explore the puddle and discuss where the rain has come from and why.
• Children are very well behaved towards their peers and the staff. They follow routines easily and respect their environment by handling equipment carefully and tidying up after themselves. They enjoy the roles and responsibilities they are given, such as collecting snack from the kitchen, drying the toys outside and cutting their own fruit.
• Children have regular access to the well-equipped garden. They delight in playing in the mud kitchen and exploring the herbs and flowers. Babies naturally share equipment with each other and work collaboratively together. Children use their imagination to make different-flavoured soups and share them with the staff. Staff challenge children to name the fresh flowers and herbs and use their senses to describe them.
• Children are provided with a fresh and nutritious four-course lunch. Children happily enjoy their lunchtime experience and eat a delicious range of healthy foods. Babies and young children feed themselves and older children serve themselves and help to clear up.
• All children make excellent progress at the nursery, especially regarding their communication skills. Staff are attentive to their individual needs and work in partnership with the parents to maintain continuity and progression. Parents comment on how wonderful the staff are and how happy their children are.
• The high staff morale and the excellent teamwork positively impacts on children. This is evident through the children's great enthusiasm for their learning. The staff team is highly motivated to continuously develop its knowledge and skills. Therefore, children are supported by a highly qualified staff team which is extremely knowledgeable about child development.
• The manager and leadership team are inspirational. Their passion for making sure every child receives the best-quality education is infectious and is shared by staff. Staff benefit from highly effective supervision meetings that focus on their well-being and professional development. The passion and enthusiasm shown by staff enrich children's experiences greatly.