Prima Montessori Day Nursery

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders have developed a highly inclusive culture where every child is valued and supported to thrive. For example, staff with specialist expertise in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) ensure children's needs are swiftly identified and addressed. Children who face barriers to learning or disadvantage are exceptionally well supported. Staff use assessment effectively to identify individual needs and next steps, ensuring children settle quickly and make substantial progress. Families are provided with tailored support and helped to access funding and additional advice. Staff work closely with parents, external agencies and the local authority to ensure children receive well-coordinated education, health and care plans that support smooth transitions to school.

Leaders are proactive and passionate in their commitment to supporting children with SEND. They use funding highly effectively to purchase specialised equipment and resources that help children develop the essential skills they need for the future. Parents are provided with free healthy food and regular ideas to support learning at home. Staff receive extensive training to enable them to support children with complex and high-level needs confidently and effectively. Leaders regularly monitor the impact of this support to ensure it remains highly effective. Staff adapt environments thoughtfully and regularly to meet children's individual needs, providing safe and calm spaces where children can relax and retreat when needed. This makes a significant contribution to children's emotional wellbeing and sense of security.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders ensure children are provided with a well-planned and inclusive curriculum. Leaders are acutely aware of the strengths of the setting and where they need to focus support. They accurately identify that some staff need support to build their confidence to identify how they can extend activities to support children's learning even further. Leaders have also identified, that at times, some staff do not always give children enough time to process what is asked of them before moving on. However, leaders have a clear action plan to ensure consistency of teaching and are supporting staff with this.

Leaders have prioritised support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and those who face disadvantage and barriers to learning. This means children are ready for their next stage in education successfully. Staff focus on developing children's social and communication skills. Children learn about feelings and demonstrate kindness and care towards their friends. Children with SEND are provided with tailored support to help them settle and as such, they make positive progress from the starting points. Staff use funding to create sensory spaces for children helping them to develop important physical skills. Children are supported to develop their mathematical understanding effectively. For example, children learn to measure different quantities when following a favourite playdough recipe. Older children use money in the community shop developing their knowledge effectively.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children develop age-appropriate knowledge and skills and are provided with activities and experiences that build their learning across all areas of the curriculum. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face disadvantage or barriers to learning, are prepared well for their next stage of learning. Children who were non-verbal when they started now use words and signs to communicate. Children receive tailored support to help them reach their individual goals. They are provided with visual aids to help them understand what is happening next and to make choices about what they want to do, supporting their independence and understanding. However, at times, some children are not given enough time to process what is asked of them or are not consistently encouraged to extend their thinking further during activities. Nevertheless, all children achieve well from their starting points and are happy and content. They display high levels of confidence and positive self-esteem.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders have created a highly respectful, nurturing and inclusive culture where every child is valued. Staff are exceptional role models and, as a result, children consistently demonstrate care, kindness and consideration towards their friends. Well-established routines are deeply embedded, and children know and follow these with confidence. Staff are highly skilful in adapting routines sensitively where needed to ensure all children settle quickly and feel secure. Older children eagerly take responsibility at tidy-up time, independently scraping their lunch plates and helping their friends to recycle. Other children confidently wash their hands and use the toilet independently. These purposeful daily experiences make a strong contribution to developing children's independence and self-help skills. All children behave exceptionally well and demonstrate consistently positive attitudes to learning.

Leaders have an excellent understanding of their local community and respond proactively to families' needs. They offer flexible sessions to support attendance and help prepare children successfully for school. Leaders go above and beyond to support families, for example by providing free food through their community shop, alongside practical ideas for healthy snacks and recipes to use at home. They have established highly positive and trusting partnerships with parents and have taken decisive, innovative action to reduce barriers for families. For example, they created a unique front-of-house management role to ensure families receive a warm welcome each day and have an immediate point of contact. This has had a significant impact in reducing barriers to attendance, strengthening relationships and ensuring consistency of care and support.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders ensure they consistently prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing. They adapt and review processes and procedures regularly to ensure children settle well and are supported effectively. They provide individualised and tailored support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders have a comprehensive knowledge of their children and families and the challenges they face. Staff provide specialist support, ensuring children feel comfortable and learn to advocate for themselves. A focus on supporting families with healthy eating has been a key priority. For example, staff provide a community shop and free food bags to support healthy snacks and meals at home. Leaders have employed both a nutritionist and chef to ensure all meals are nutritious and balanced. This supports children's understanding of healthy eating very well. Staff ensure children are provided with a wide range of activities to support oral health. Children thoroughly enjoy learning to brush their teeth, supporting their self-care skills effectively.

Leaders ensure well-structured routines are securely embedded, supporting children's understanding of expectations well. This fosters a solid foundation for the future. Children make consistently positive choices with regard to their own self-care and physical and emotional health. For example, children manage their own feelings effectively, seeking safe spaces when they need to. Other children enthusiastically enjoy choosing fruits and vegetables in the community shop and talking about keeping themselves healthy.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders and managers have faced significant challenges regarding governance and staffing. However, there is a new management structure and team in place, which is having a significantly positive impact. Partnerships with parents are now significantly improved. Leaders use their perceptive analysis of the setting to inform their action plan to ensure they focus on consistency of practice. They are acutely aware of where to focus their support to enable staff to improve their practice even further. Leaders and managers are very reflective and proactive and monitor the effectiveness of staff training and professional development to ensure it is focussed appropriately. They ensure they develop a culture of high expectations, with a focus on ensuring staff have access to a wide range of training and support. Leaders continuously review what they offer and adapt practice and provision to ensure they remain highly responsive to the changing needs of their children and families and local community. Leaders seek specialist support and advice to ensure they have a continual focus on supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face barriers and disadvantage. They ensure staff workload is manageable, reviewed regularly and staff report high levels of support. Parents speak very highly of the setting and the very positive relationships they have with staff. They directly reference the positive progress their children have made and the support they receive as parents.