Lilliput Montessori Day Nursery Coalville

Inclusion: Needs attention

Overall, leaders identify children's needs. However, there are inconsistencies in the support offered to children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). While staff regularly assess children's development at times, staff can be overly negative and mainly focus on what children cannot do rather than demonstrating ambition for those children, such as when sharing information with parents, carers and other professionals about what children are capable of.

Leaders demonstrate a commitment to working in partnership with other agencies and professionals and use their ideas and suggestions to support children within the setting. They are unafraid to challenge other professionals at multi-agency meetings in order to try and secure the best outcomes for children. Leaders are swift in organising meetings with parents and carers so they can begin to plan from an early age what support children might need. They ensure that families who speak English as an additional language are fully supported to engage with this process.

There is a collaborative approach to identifying how to make best use of the early years pupil premium funding to support children's learning and development. Leaders consult with parents, carers and the key person to consider children's interests as well as what children need to learn next.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

While leaders have devised curriculum goals that they want children to achieve, these are not specific enough to clearly establish the knowledge, skills and understanding children will acquire. Staff are not always clear on what they are intending children to learn from activities. Staff's teaching is inconsistent for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Therefore, children do not routinely benefit from high-quality interactions. For example, during a mark-making activity with younger children, staff mainly watch the children experiment with the resources and do not guide or extend their learning. Staff are not consistently supporting children's engagement to enable them to build on what they already know and can do. Leaders are aware of some of the areas for improvement and have taken initial steps to address these, although this is not yet benefiting children's learning.

Staff provide some purposeful activities. Very young children enjoy playing with bubbles. Staff repeat simple words, encouraging children to copy and demonstrating what they mean to support their understanding and language development. They manage the pace of the activity well so that children have time to listen, respond and explore the bubbles.

Achievement: Needs attention

While some children are making progress and moving forward in their development, others do not make the progress they are capable of because support for learning does not consistently help them to build on what they already know and can do. During some activities, children, including those who face barriers to their learning, drift about or engage at a superficial level and then their interest quickly wanes. They are sometimes quiet and are not encouraged to practise their communication skills.

Children are developing their independence skills, such as washing hands and managing their own coat. They are learning to use cutlery and age-appropriate cups at mealtimes. They know that they need to line up and wait for staff as they transition between indoors and outdoors. Older children develop friendships with their peers and initiate games to play together. They use equipment such as wheeled toys with confidence and ability.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Some staff do not always manage routines well enough throughout the day. For example, during the transition to lunch, staff make occasional attempts to tidy up the toys, but they do not communicate this to the younger children so that they can join in. Staff are not clear on their roles with regard to setting out the meal, and it becomes disorganised and takes a long time. Some children become upset or frustrated, while others, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, fall asleep because of the time they have been waiting. However, staff do ensure that when children wake up they are offered their meal. Leaders acknowledge that some staff need further support to ensure routines are smooth and supportive of children's needs.

Children behave well, even during times when there is a lack of engagement from staff. From a young age, they learn how to handle the resources carefully. They know to take turns, for example, as they wait for their go on the climbing equipment. Staff introduce younger children to age-appropriate equipment in order to build their confidence so, as they develop, they will attempt to use the more challenging equipment outdoors.

Leaders manage children's attendance well. They are proactive in discussing and reinforcing the importance of consistent routines with parents and carers.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Leaders do not ensure that routines are well implemented. For example, they do not ensure that reasonable adjustments are made for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) at mealtimes. Children do not always benefit from a well-organised learning environment. For the younger age groups, although there is plenty of space, the number of toys spread across the floor sometimes limits their ability to engage in activities and to explore freely and comfortably. For example, children trip over toys as they move around the environment. Outdoors, children have daily opportunities to play in all weathers and thoroughly enjoy exploring the different outdoor areas. Staff provide appropriate challenges for children, such as climbing the frame and sliding down the pole.

Children are generally happy and settled. They form close bonds with their key person and other staff. Children with SEND seek out staff for comfort when they are tired and to help them to regulate their emotions. Staff help children to start to recognise and manage their emotions as they talk to them about how they are feeling.

Staff consistently follow safer eating procedures and ensure that children are supervised at all times. Hygiene practice is consistently implemented throughout the nursery. Staff sometimes speak to children about healthy eating, although the quality of these discussions varies and reflects the general inconsistencies in teaching. There are well-established procedures to ensure children's safety when they are asleep.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

The relatively new leadership team demonstrates passion about the role and want to ensure an inclusive environment that meets the needs of all children, including those with any barriers to learning. Leaders have started to identify where practice needs to improve across the nursery and broadly recognise which areas it needs to focus on. Some improvements have been implemented, although they are not yet having enough of an impact on the quality of the provision. Although leaders have revised the curriculum, it does not provide a clear enough focus on what children will learn as they move through the nursery.

During supervision sessions, leaders identify staff's personal development targets. However, they do not ensure that the targets are focused well enough on staff teaching practice or that staff are clear about the targets they are working towards and how they can achieve them. Staff are beginning to recognise where they could improve their own knowledge and understanding of aspects of practice, such as support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and request additional training. Leaders are mindful of staff wellbeing, and staff report that they feel supported.

There are inconsistencies in the quality of information shared with parents and carers. Staff do not always ensure that parents are well informed about their children's learning and, particularly, how they can support this at home.