Little People's Montessori

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and relaxed in this welcoming nursery. They develop strong bonds and secure attachments with the caring staff. Children who are new to the nursery or arrive upset are comforted well by staff and settle quickly. Staff are positive role models and children giggle with delight as they join their play. Purposeful activities are planned to support children in their learning. For example, younger children have fun in the home corner as they take care of the dolls, while older ones work together to organise a racing game. Staff support children to make good progress in their development.

Children develop their independence as they put on outdoor shoes or boots to go to the garden or slippers when indoors. Children enjoy finding a plate and cup and saucer for snack and mealtimes, and understand to handle them gently as they are breakable. Children relish their time outside and demonstrate good physical dexterity, as they climb and balance on the tree and develop their imaginative play as they organise their own chasing games. Staff teach children to take appropriate risks and challenges as they play, building their confidence and self-esteem. Children behave well and respond excitedly as staff praise their achievements.

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

• The manager has devised a broad and balanced curriculum. It builds on children's knowledge over time and is linked to the learning needs and current interests of the children who attend. Staff make regular observations and assessments of children's learning. All children make good progress from their starting points, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and English as an additional language. However, at times, staff are not clear on what it is they want to teach children during the activity and do not always present information clearly to children. Therefore, children do not benefit from a full learning experience.
• Overall, staff interact positively with children and lead activities that engage children. Staff know children well and use this knowledge to support them in planning for their next steps in learning. However, at times, as staff join children at their play, they do not consistently engage effectively with children to enhance their learning.
• Staff place a clear focus on children's communication and language development. They engage children in conversations as they play, model language well and use clear pronunciation and introduce new vocabulary. For example, staff use visual cues and gesture to support language development. Children learn Makaton signs to support them to communicate. Staff encourage children's reading and literacy skills, such as with books, using wooden letters to form words of objects they choose and mark-making materials.
• Staff introduce mathematical language into children's play and learning. Children enjoy making paper aeroplanes to fly and check whose paper aeroplane flies the highest. Children count the frogs and talk about which frog made the biggest splash in the pond.
• Staff help children to understand about healthy lifestyles. Children eagerly talk about what they have in their lunch box and have fruit at snack, as well plenty of fresh air, as they enjoy their time in the garden. Children's physical skills are promoted well. Children enjoy balancing on stepping stones and excitedly add higher ones to the obstacle course to challenge themselves, before walking along beams to climb the steps to the slide.
• Partnership with parents and other professionals caring for children is effective. Parents speak highly of the setting and comment that the staff team are nurturing and approachable, therefore children settle well and build strong bonds with them. Good communication ensures that parents know what their children can do and what they will be learning next.
• The manager regularly monitors practice and provides support to ensure that all staff clearly understand their roles and responsibilities. Staff contribute to their own supervisions and together they identify areas where further training would help them to increase their knowledge as well as how to improve children's experience within the environment.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• encourage staff to focus more precisely on clearer learning intentions for activities to support what children need to learn next
• support staff to engage effectively with children when joining their play to enhance their learning further.