Milton Hall Montessori Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish in this vibrant and well-presented pre-school. They demonstrate that they feel happy, safe and stimulated. Children show excitement on arrival and benefit from consistent routines. For instance, children put their bags and shoes away and pop their slippers on to start their day.

Staff work together to meet children's individual care and learning needs effectively. Children thrive on the positive relationships they develop with both their peers and members of staff. As a result, children achieve high levels of independence.

Children of all ages demonstrate a positive attitude to learning. They are supported by knowledgeable staff who provide an abundance of interesting activities. These spark children's curiosity, helping them to become engaged and confident learners. Older children confidently extend and enhance their own learning independently, accessing additional resources to pursue their own interests and ideas. They show pleasure and excitement in the activities planned by staff and the resources that are available to them, particularly indoors. For example, children enjoy solving challenging puzzles and persevere with tasks. Others extend their mathematical learning with number cards and props, such as their favourite animals. Staff are close by to support children should they need additional help. This supports children's ongoing learning and development successfully.

Overall, all children, including those with additional needs, enjoy a well-sequenced curriculum that prepares them successfully for their eventual move on to school.

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

• Staff have implemented creative teaching methods that cover a wide range of learning goals. For example, children take part in daily yoga sessions when they chat about their morning at home, practise different yoga poses and breathing techniques. The manager, who is also the owner, teaches children how to pick up pom-pom balls with their feet. Children show high levels of enjoyment as they master the ability to pick up their favourite coloured pom-pom balls by curling their toes. Additionally, children learn to sit in a circle, participate in group discussions and learn to await their turn. This promotes their social skills and overall well-being effectively.
• Staff teach children about British values and current affairs in an age-appropriate manner. For example, during the inspection, staff taught children about the upcoming coronation of King Charles III. They explained the order of the monarchy, where the king lives and which landmarks they can find in London, such as Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. Staff used a visuals board so that children could link their understanding to the pictures. Children excitedly participated in the group discussion and showed utter pride in their learned knowledge on the topic. These informative interactions help children to understand the importance of cultural events and enhance their speech and language development superbly.
• Staff ensure that all children benefit from daily activities outdoors to exercise their large and small muscles. Children smile with joy as they test their balancing skills on bicycles and scooters. Others enjoy exploring sand and water on the heavy-duty plastic tray tables. However, on occasion, staff do not always notice when some activities become too busy, such as when lots of younger children want to explore the sand and water table at the same time. This does not support all children's learning and interests consistently.
• Staff have implemented clear systems and routines. As a result, children behave very well. For example, children patiently await their turn to wash their hands before mealtimes while staff sing with them. This contributes to the calm atmosphere during routine times and helps children to learn to take turns.
• Overall, staff speak positively of the manager and feel that they can raise any concerns with her. Staff have yearly appraisals and regular supervision. They attend mandatory training, such as safeguarding and first aid. However, not all staff are consistently supported with professional development opportunities to further enhance their knowledge and skills to the very highest standard.
• Parents report that they are happy with the care that their children receive from staff. They say that they appreciate the many outings staff organise for the children and that their children have made good progress in all areas of their learning. Information is shared regularly with parents about their children's learning and development. Additionally, parents are invited to informative workshops with professionals at the setting on topics such as children's oral health. Furthermore, staff work in close partnership with the local authority, therapists and local schools to ensure the efficient continuity of care to all children and their families.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the effectiveness of staff deployment in all areas of the setting to ensure all children receive the support they need to gain the most from activities
• make further use of professional development opportunities for all staff to improve knowledge and skills to the very highest standard, to enable staff to further support the children in their care.