Lyng Montessori

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enthusiastically enter the nursery and confidently hang up their belongings on their named peg. Softly played music and a friendly greeting by the genuinely caring and nurturing staff, mean that children immediately feel relaxed, safe and ready to play and learn. The homely and thoughtfully designed environment means children can move freely and act independently. Children swiftly begin to engage in purposeful play as staff provide enticing and stimulating activities and resources based on children's individual interests and stages of learning. The inclusive outdoor classroom and gardens offer children who prefer to learn outdoors the same, high-quality learning opportunities and experiences as indoors.

Knowledgeable staff know that children learn best with fun-filled, intentional learning experiences. Staff create story baskets by carefully selecting resources to match children's favourite stories. Children delight in exploring an owl-themed basket with their peers. While retelling the story to each other, children develop their imagination as they use the props to bring their version of the story to life. Through revisiting this story and practising familiar and previously learned vocabulary, children make rapid progress in their communication and early literacy development. Children gain important social skills, such as developing positive friendships, when staff praise children for negotiating taking turns with the owl props.

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

• Overall, teaching is very good quality. The well-designed and ambitious curriculum is built around Montessori principles. The management team support staff with training to ensure that the curriculum is continuously delivered successfully. Robust and effective ongoing assessments of children's progress ensure that any gaps in children's learning are identified early and appropriate support is provided.
• The key-person system and bespoke settling-in processes ensure that children's physical and emotional well-being is at the heart of everything they do. Parents and children build trusting bonds with their key person, who gathers in-depth information before the children start. With this wealth of knowledge, skilful staff tailor children's learning and development to meet their needs. Meticulous, ongoing partnership working with parents and outside professionals, such as paediatricians, ensures that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make consistent progress and their needs are met.
• The management team and staff have high aspirations for supporting children to develop secure, personal hygiene routines. For example, staff recently completed oral health training to support children to take care of their teeth. Children quickly gain the skills necessary to wash their hands before eating and learn to dress themselves. However, staff have not considered how they can build on this to help children become highly independent in managing their personal care needs and teach them how this contributes to their good health.
• Children thrive in nature and benefit from weekly, physical group activities. As children engage in a den building activity, they start to think logically and look carefully at the shape and size of the materials they are using. They suggest using a peg to secure the camouflage netting to a tree branch. Staff introduce words, such as 'camouflage', with meaning and ask questions to check children's understanding. Children begin to hide toys under leaves for staff to find. They gleefully tell staff they are 'camouflaged', demonstrating the effectiveness of these teaching interactions.
• Children are very well behaved and frequently show respectful behaviours to others. Staff notice swiftly when children are having disagreements with their peers. They calmly introduce strategies, such as using sand timers, to help children learn the skills they need to be able to resolve conflicts themselves.
• Parents speak incredibly highly of the nursery, and they feel valued as an important part of their child's early education. Daily online and face-to-face communication, alongside invitations to regular meetings to discuss their child's progress, are appreciated. As a result, parents report that they feel confident in supporting their child's further learning at home, with additions of home learning activities and ideas. Good links with local schools support seamless transitions to children's next stages of early education.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff consider how they can build on encouraging children to become highly independent in attending to their personal needs.