Little Oaks Montessori Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a safe, secure and welcoming environment. They develop strong bonds with children because of their caring and nurturing interactions. Staff ensure they know about children and their families to enable them to build strong relationships with them. Staff offer higher levels of support to those children who are new to the setting, and this helps them to settle quickly. Staff, with the support of the special needs coordinator, are particularly effective at identifying and supporting children with SEND. Staff know what they want children to learn and focus on children's interests and the areas of learning. They plan a challenging and motivating curriculum that builds on what children already know and can do. Transitions to school are carefully considered by the manager and staff team. Key workers know their children well. Children develop the necessary skills for their eventual move to school.

Staff are good role models and support children to learn boundaries, and they have high expectations for their behaviour and attitudes to learning. This helps children to be enthusiastic and motivated to learn. Children show they are eager to join their friends in play. They are polite towards staff and their peers. Staff encourage children to take care of their belongings and to help tidy toys away. Children know what is expected of them in this setting.

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

• The quality of education across the setting is good. Staff provide an ambitious curriculum that makes use of the indoor and outdoor environments to provide stimulating experiences for children. Children are curious to explore and engage with the variety of opportunities available.
• Overall, staff model communication and language well. They use effective questioning to extend children's learning. Staff offer an ongoing narrative, and this encourages children to use their imaginations. Children are exposed to a wide variety of language and new vocabulary through songs, stories and conversations. Children confidently use new language purposefully in their play. For instance, when playing imaginatively with dough and large tooth brushes, children comment on how 'plaque' and 'decay' rot their teeth.
• Children's natural curiosity is nurtured through reading books with staff. They sit together on the carpet, listening eagerly to the staff member reading the story they have chosen. Staff make story times fully interactive, inviting children to finish off familiar phrases. However, on occasion, staff interrupt learning by prioritising daily routines, such as tidying up. This impacts on children's ability to remain fully engaged, as the interruption in learning breaks their concentration.
• Overall, staff promote children's early mathematical skills. They encourage children to count the blocks they are using to build towers. Together, they count the number of fruits and vegetables they cut up for their snacks. However, staff do not always use these opportunities to consistently extend other aspects of children's mathematical knowledge, such as shape, measure and size.
• Staff act as good role models to teach children about respectful interactions. Children play very well together. They share toys with their friends and say thank you to each other. Children learn about being kind and helping their friends.
• Children learn how to be independent as they put their own indoor shoes on after outdoor play. They unzip their coats and hang them on their named pegs. Some children independently use the toilet with minimal support. Children show a sense of pride in their achievements.
• Staff promote healthy lifestyles with children. Children bring in healthy, balanced packed lunches and snacks. They take part in weekly cooking activities where they make healthy foods, such as Vietnamese summer rolls, and taste cuisine from around the world. In addition, staff teach children to identify different flags from around the world, which helps children to build on their learning of the wider world.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents report that children make good progress in the setting and that staff ensure they are kept up to date about their children's progress. Parents appreciate the time taken to help children settle into the setting and the love and care offered by staff.
• Staff are reflective and constantly evaluate the service they provide. All staff are motivated and feel well supported by the manager. They feel valued and have access to further training opportunities to continue their own professional development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the organisation of routines to better support children's engagement so that there are less interruptions in their play and learning
• use opportunities more effectively to consistently introduce shape, size and measure in activities to help enhance children's concepts of mathematics.