St. Peters Montessori School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The management team and staff provide a welcoming, safe and inclusive environment for all children. Children arrive eager to see their friends and quickly settle into the day's activities. Children are happy and very settled in this friendly setting. Staff provide an ambitious curriculum, which is based on the early years foundation stage and the Montessori method. Children have access to a broad range of exciting activities and resources.

Children are free to explore the indoor and outdoor spaces. They engage in activities that interest them. Children confidently use mark-making tools to paint, draw and write. In addition, they enjoy growing flowers and fruits in the setting's outdoor space. Children independently fill and use watering cans to water plants and can identify flowers, such as pansies. Children display high levels of concentration and curiosity towards their learning.

Staff have high expectations for what children can achieve. They plan learning opportunities to help children to make good progress in all areas of the curriculum. For example, children strengthen their muscles and coordination as they build an obstacle course outdoors. Furthermore, children enjoy taking turns as they walk on a wooden plank. This helps to develop their balancing skills and confidence. Older children are kind to younger children and their peers, and share ideas as they play. Children have meaningful friendships and their behaviour is good.

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

• Children build high levels of self-esteem and are motivated to learn. They are curious about new people and keen to investigate new experiences. For example, children confidently talk with authorised visitors about their favourite colours and what they like about the setting.
• Staff implement a well-planned curriculum that helps to support children's learning and development. Staff are positive role models for children and show them how to succeed in their self-chosen activities. Staff teach children how to tidy away resources when they have finished using them. Children learn to use different clothing fasteners, such as zips and buttons. These activities help children to learn to dress independently and take responsibility for their own self-care needs.
• Staff spend time observing children to identify what they can do and what they need to learn next. They plan learning opportunities to promote older children's understanding of early literacy skills. For example, they implement adult-led activities for children to read simple words and phrases. However, at times, staff give children words and phrases that are too challenging for them to read. Consequently, this does not fully support children's learning.
• Staff implement daily routines to help children to adopt and learn about healthy lifestyles. For instance, children understand the importance of washing their hands before mealtimes and comment that they are washing the germs off. Children confidently serve their food and pour their drinks. Staff provide children with daily fresh air and exercise to promote their good health.
• The management team recognises the importance of professional development. Staff regularly complete relevant training to develop their skills. However, they do not always effectively embed the knowledge they gain into everyday practice to raise their already good standards to an even higher level. For example, on occasion, staff are unsure how to manage children's behaviour when they get excited during their play. This results in high noise levels in the classroom, which mean that some children find it difficult to focus on their chosen activities.
• Staff plan exciting trips to help children to learn more about their community. For example, children visit parks, libraries and farms and attend concerts. This helps to promote children's social skills and sense of self within the community.
• Staff support children well in developing their language and communication skills. They model speech effectively and encourage children to share their ideas and thoughts during play. Staff read books to children using different voices, and children enthusiastically complete sentences in familiar stories. Older children are aware of rhyming words, such as 'ham' and 'Sam'. Children are becoming confident communicators.
• Staff work well with parents and regularly share information with them about their children's knowledge and skills. For example, they invite parents to regular meetings to review their children's progress. Parents confirm that their children enjoy attending the setting and make good progress. They highly appreciate the excellent support that their children receive from the dedicated and caring staff team.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to plan activities to the precise level of each child to help them to make the best possible progress in their learning
• evaluate the effectiveness of staff training to ensure that the knowledge and understanding that staff gain are fully embedded in everyday practice.