Little Pippins Montessori Nursery

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders are able to identify those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and barriers to their learning swiftly. Leaders and practitioners recognise that children have different starting points and consider children's prior experiences. Practitioners have an extensive knowledge of the children and their families due to robust settling-in procedures. Practitioners are mindful that children who are known or previously known to social care may have unknown experiences and are skilled in having sensitive conversations with parents.

Leaders monitor children's progress closely by implementing individual learning plans. This enables practitioners to breakdown learning into smaller steps and carefully adapt the environment to ensure that children are making rapid progress. For example, practitioners choose to use the smaller outdoor area to support children in maintaining focus on learning for longer periods. Children who may face emotional barriers to their learning are provided with a cosy calm space to allow them some quiet time to regulate their emotions. This supports them to become confident in expressing their feelings.

Leaders ensure that practitioners undertake further training to maintain a high level of support for those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning. This ensures that a highly consistent approach is taken when supporting children and enables staff to adapt activities and environments effectively.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders have designed a curriculum that meets the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning. Carefully planned provision enables high-quality teaching, resulting in children being highly engaged in their play and learning. Practitioners use every interaction as a teaching opportunity. For example, during outdoor play, practitioners skilfully question children about how objects can be used, further developing their knowledge and understanding. Knowledgeable practitioners enable children to lead their own learning while recognising when support or challenge is needed.

Children have many opportunities to develop their physical skills within the extensive outdoor environment. Older children enthusiastically transport tyres from the obstacle course across the field to create a car elsewhere in the garden, demonstrating teamwork and coordination. Younger children skilfully use tongs to pick up bricks and carefully transport them into containers, showing high levels of concentration and pride when they succeed.

Leaders and practitioners use what they know about children to engage them in learning. For example, practitioners use children's interest in tractors to extend their communication and language skills through meaningful conversations. As a result, even very young children confidently respond to complex questions. Leaders ensure that children develop an understanding of the wider world through visits to local museums and opportunities to attend social groups within the village community. They are committed to further strengthening children's understanding of the diverse world in which they live to deepen their knowledge and awareness of different people and cultures.

Practitioners use every opportunity to teach mathematics throughout the setting. In the baby room, children hear mathematical language such as 'big' and 'small' as they explore objects and resources. Older children build on this knowledge by matching the number of spots on a ladybird to the corresponding written numeral on a log slice, developing early counting and number recognition skills through practical experiences.

Achievement: Strong standard

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning, make strong and sustained progress across all areas of learning and development from their individual starting points. Children develop the essential knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for future learning exceptionally well. They are confident communicators, curious learners and resilient problem-solvers who demonstrate high levels of engagement and perseverance in their play.

Children develop excellent independence skills from an early age because practitioners consistently encourage them to take responsibility within daily routines. For example, toddlers confidently return their cups to the shelf after snack time without prompting, while older children independently select resources, manage risks safely and take pride in completing tasks for themselves. As a result, children demonstrate high levels of self-confidence, self-care and motivation to learn.

Children benefit from access to a wide range of carefully chosen resources that support exploration, investigation and decision-making. Even the youngest children confidently explore their environment, make choices in their play and sustain concentration for long periods of time. Children demonstrate excellent listening skills, particularly within the large outdoor environment where they respond attentively to instructions and engage purposefully in collaborative play. For example, during water play, children excitedly anticipate the fountain rising and falling, carefully positioning their hands to catch the water as they predict what will happen next. Through experiences such as these, children develop early scientific thinking, communication skills and cooperative play.

Children are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage in their learning, including the move to school. They show strong communication and language skills, positive attitudes to learning and the ability to manage their own needs successfully. Children's behaviour is excellent, and they demonstrate kindness, confidence and enthusiasm in all that they do.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders and practitioners have high expectations of children's behaviour. Children behave extremely well due to the well-embedded routines within the setting. For example, when coming back into the room from outdoor play at lunchtime, all children know to go to the sink to wash their hands, where they wait patiently for their turn.

A consistently positive attitude to learning is embedded, even when activities are not initiated by an adult. During outdoor play, children collect a nature hunt sheet, move purposefully around the outdoor space and remain highly focused on their task, talking confidently about what they can see and what they have found. Leaders and practitioners are excellent role models for the children, consistently demonstrating calm, respectful and positive interactions.

Leaders and practitioners have developed strong bonds with the children, enabling them to feel safe and secure within their learning environment. Practitioners offer praise at every opportunity, which develops children's confidence and self-esteem and ensures that they maintain positive attitudes to learning.

Leaders explicitly teach children the importance of manners and respectful communication. Babies join in with a 'please and thank you' song, while those children who face barriers to learning use Makaton to sign 'please' and 'thank you', ensuring that all children can communicate respectfully and effectively.

Leaders understand the importance of children's attendance and work closely with parents to promote regular attendance, ensuring that children benefit fully from the learning experiences on offer.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders make children's welfare and wellbeing the highest priority. Children have a strong sense of belonging and settle quickly into the setting. Leaders and practitioners build highly positive relationships with families, who speak very highly of the care and support provided. Prior to starting, settling-in sessions are carefully adapted to meet the individual needs of each child and family, ensuring a smooth and secure transition. Well-structured daily routines are consistently embedded, enabling children to feel safe, secure and confident in their environment. Leaders and practitioners ensure that safe sleep procedures are rigorously followed across the setting.

Children receive nutritious food, and there is a robust system in place to meet the needs of those with dietary requirements and allergies. Practitioners use mealtimes as valuable learning opportunities, talking to children about the food they are eating to extend vocabulary and communication skills. For example, they discuss the 'red, crunchy apple' at snack time, encouraging children to describe taste, texture and colour.

Practitioners carefully prepare children for transitions throughout the day, helping them to feel secure and informed about what will happen next. For example, they explain that after snack time, the children will go outside to play. This is also used as an opportunity to promote discussion and decision-making, as practitioners invite children to choose where they would like to play.

Children demonstrate strong resilience, and their wellbeing is supported at every opportunity. In the toddler room, a dedicated emotions display supports children to recognise and talk confidently about their feelings. Practitioners use this as a focus for frequent conversations about emotions, helping children to develop emotional awareness and self-regulation skills. Practitioners are highly attentive to individual needs and can speak knowledgeably and confidently about each child's development, interests and wellbeing.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders regularly reflect on practice and can accurately identify strengths and areas for development within the setting. There is a strong focus on practitioners' development to continually improve practice. Practitioners benefit from regular supervisions, which provide opportunities to discuss children's development as well as their own wellbeing. Leaders promote peer-on-peer observations to support reflective practice and the sharing of effective approaches across the team. They also ensure that practitioners' workload is manageable and provide appropriate support when required. Safer recruitment processes are robust and consistently implemented across the setting.

Leaders have developed strong and effective relationships with parents and a range of external professionals. They have also established positive links with local primary schools, enabling teachers to visit children within the setting prior to transition, supporting continuity and smooth progression into school. Before children start, leaders gather detailed information about routines, dietary requirements, likes and dislikes, ensuring that individual needs are known and met from the outset.

Leaders demonstrate a secure understanding of their responsibilities and evaluate the setting effectively. However, leaders did not notify Ofsted of a significant event in a timely manner. Despite this, they took prompt and appropriate action to ensure that the premises were made secure and risks were addressed swiftly, demonstrating a strong commitment to children's safety and welfare.