Little Elves Montessori

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed to the setting. Parents speak highly of the caring and kind staff. The home-from-home ethos of the setting helps children to feel safe and secure. This enhances their ability to learn and explore. The manager and staff have a strong focus on developing and valuing the whole child, and this helps children to build their confidence and self-esteem.

Children who are new to the setting are very well supported. They very soon begin to learn the routines of the day and are happy to explore the bright and attractive play spaces with support from familiar adults. Children enthusiastically explore the wide range of opportunities available to them, and they are developing positive attitudes to learning.

Children benefit from a stable staff team that has high expectations of children's conduct. Children behave well and have learned the rules of the nursery. When asked what being kind means, children talk about having kind hands and sharing, demonstrating their understanding. Staff gently remind children how to use their ears to listen and their eyes to look at the book during circle time. Children respond quickly and politely to their guidance.

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

• The broad curriculum supports children to learn across all areas of their development. The manager and staff team understand the importance of children being well prepared for school. This means that children learn the key skills they need, such as dressing themselves, taking themselves to the toilet and knowing their table manners.
• Children demonstrate a love of stories and songs, and there is a strong focus on communication and language skills at the nursery. This helps children to develop their speaking and listening skills. More work is needed to ensure the programme for early literacy is well aligned with the expectations of the schools the children attend, in order to support children going on to learn how to read once they have left the setting.
• Interactions between staff and children are generally of high quality, and staff listen carefully to children and ensure they meet their needs. When teaching is strongest, children are challenged to think and problem solve. Children respond with curiosity and enthusiasm, asking questions and sharing information. For example, children recall watching chicks hatching, and they use their sense of touch to explore the concepts of rough and smooth when painting.
• Children's independence is fostered well within the nurturing setting. They are encouraged to hang their bag on their pegs, find their own apron before painting and to clear away their plates following meals and snacks. Children understand the routine of the day, announcing 'it's tidy-up time' and helpfully clearing away the building bricks. This is good preparation for moving on to school.
• The manager has adjusted ways of working to enable the staff to spend more time with the children and less time on paperwork, which is good. Staff have regular meetings to ensure they are up to date with any changes in the field of early years. However, opportunities for continuous professional development are quite limited. The manager is a very good role model for the team and is hoping to develop more opportunities for staff development now working arrangements have returned to normal.
• Children are well cared for. They are treated with respect by the accommodating staff. For example, children can eat at their own pace and are not rushed. This ensures that children eat well and enjoy their sociable mealtimes. Children who need a sleep during the nursery day are provided with comfort and are supervised at all times. The nursery is fully inclusive and welcomes all children and families.
• Parents are extremely positive about the nursery and the staff team. They are very happy with their child's development and learning and receive lots of information regarding what the children are learning. This means that they can continue their children's learning at home. Parents proudly report that their children sometimes teach them about other people's religions and traditions that they have learned about at nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that all staff have a secure understanding of the curriculum intent and that implementation is consistently of the highest quality
• review the curriculum for literacy in order to ensure that it is age-appropriate and helpful for when children start school.