Meadows Montessori

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children thrive in the nursery. The extremely skilled staff are passionate about creating a nurturing, child-centred environment where all children are supported to flourish. Children are highly motivated and enthusiastic learners. They eagerly join in the exciting opportunities for learning and become deeply involved as they make new discoveries. The language-rich environment that is created by the staff supports all children to acquire and use language, and they are excellent communicators. Children are confident to express their own ideas, needs and interests, and these are listened to and responded to by the staff. For example, children confidently share that polar bears live in very cold countries and pandas eat bamboo. They enjoy talking about what they have learned previously.

Children are highly respectful and kind to each other. Staff teach them how to manage their emotions and work together to resolve conflicts that may arise. The children follow the staff's lead to work together, share resources and solve problems to complete tasks. Children demonstrate enjoyment in interacting with the staff. Younger children squeal in delight as they go on a 'bear hunt' and growl like bears while older children follow a map to see where they will be going next. All children listen to each other and are highly respectful of each other's ideas.

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

• The curriculum intent is extremely clear and has been carefully planned in order to support children to achieve set goals at each stage of their development. This helps children to build on what they know and support them to reach their next goal. Staff's high-quality teaching at each stage of a child's development supports them to gain the knowledge and skills that are needed to make exceptional progress in their learning.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are extremely well supported. The knowledgeable and caring staff have the same high aspirations for all children. Staff work with other agencies and parents to create tailored plans for children's learning and development, bringing a collaborative approach to children's learning.
• Parents speak extremely highly of the nursery. They praise the staff team, who go above and beyond to care for and educate their children. They particularly highlight how robustly the nursery supports their children's emotional needs, how caring the staff are and the considerable progress their children make during their time at nursery. Parents also praise the effective communication, which helps them to feel part of their children's learning and development. The nursery uses parent and children surveys to gain their views. The nursery uses this information to reflect on their practice to make improvements.
• Leaders and managers are ambitious and passionate about the nursery. They are highly reflective and accurately evaluate all aspects of the provision. Leaders and managers target areas to develop and source effective training for the staff team. Staff morale is extremely high. Staff are valued, and their well-being and professional development are supported. As a result, the team are thoroughly committed to their pursuit for excellence in all areas of the nursery.
• The broad and enriching curriculum gives children a range of opportunities to learn about the world around them. They attend forest school sessions, which provide opportunities to take risks through exploring natural resources, and they have Spanish lessons.
• The key-person system is highly effective in practice. Staff know their key children very well. They are able to identify and talk about the children's strengths and any areas of concern. They plan and implement fun, stimulating and beneficial activities for the children to support them to make excellent progress in all areas of their development. Children's safety is of the highest priority. Staff all have a thorough understanding of how to keep children safe, and they ensure that children are safely supervised and well supported at all times.
• Staff have a great deal of fun with children, their enthusiasm and commitment to play gives children a great sense of enjoyment in learning. For example, staff retell familiar books with great excitement, bringing them to life by creating opportunities for children to use story props, noises and natural materials to act out the story. Staff also give many chances for children to ask questions, with time for them to consider and respond, supporting their existing knowledge and building on what they already know.