Little Orchard Montessori Chaddlewood

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children's faces brighten as they enter the nursery, eager to see their friends and favourite toys. During the day, children enjoy warm cuddles from staff, who form strong bonds with them. Staff understand this strong attachment has a positive impact on the children's learning and development. Children are safe and secure. The curriculum is well planned, preparing children for the next stage of their educational journey. Every child makes good progress in their learning and development, regardless of their starting point.

Staff help babies build core strength and balance. They support them as they learn to stand and take their first steps. Older children express their creativity by painting on paper and exploring shapes. When children see paint on their fingers, staff take the chance to practise counting. They ask the child to show them all five fingers. Older children develop their imaginations during play with toy dolls. They explain how they are keeping the dolls warm with a blanket. Babies develop independence by sitting on chairs at low tables. They use spoons to eat yoghurt and grated apple. This helps them develop their hand-to-eye coordination. The nursery menu is healthy and balanced, and staff help children develop good eating habits.

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

• Children are supported in developing their physical skills. Babies smile in dance sessions, learning to move their bodies to music. Older children enjoy running and jumping outdoors. They experience feeling 'out of breath' and building their heart strength. They develop core strength and balance while crossing a balance beam and obstacle course.
• Staff in the baby room engage with children, guiding them to build their vocabulary through singing songs with new words. While babies build a train track, staff help them sing a song about the 'choo-choo' train. They repeat the names of items, such as 'tree' and 'giraffe', helping babies learn new words. Older children chat with their friends. However, staff in the older children's room often make comments but do not always engage older children in conversations that consistently extend their communication, ideas and interests.
• Babies develop concentration and hand strength as they transfer coloured rice between containers. Older children learn about dimension and sequence as they build a wooden tower. Staff help them understand that they have built something from 'larger' to 'smaller'. However, the planning of activities in the older children's room does not provide enough challenge. As a result, older children often become bored, wander around the room and become disruptive.
• Children are curious learners. Staff help older children develop polite manners by modelling when to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Staff aim to guide children to develop respect for others. Older children pay attention to instructions. For example, they know when to line up before going downstairs to play outdoors. However, when children have trouble sharing, staff say, 'No, we do not do that.' Staff do not support older children in understanding how their behaviour affects others.
• Parent feedback is positive. Parents report that children are happy and enjoy attending the nursery. They comment that communication is good and they feel informed about what children do. Parents feed back that children make good progress in their social and communication skills. They also note that food allergies are well managed. Parents recommend the nursery to others.
• Staff value working as a team and feel appreciated in their roles. They regularly take part in relevant training sessions. A recent course on the key-person role helped staff understand how these relationships boost children's well-being. Staff attend conferences together and join regular in-house training on the nursery curriculum. Staff have made strong connections with other early years professionals and local nurseries. They offer guidance and share good practice with other providers.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff interactions with older children so that conversations consistently extend their communication, ideas and interests
• ensure that the planning and delivery of activities for older children provides sufficient challenge to sustain engagement
• develop staff skills in using the curriculum to teach older children about behaviour, so they learn how their actions affect others.