The Norwich Montessori School Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop strong bonds with staff, who are approachable and reassuring. Staff take time to get to know the children, finding out about their interests and individual needs. Children starting at nursery for the first time receive close attention and support. This helps them to settle swiftly, as they get to know the rhythm and routine of the day, starting their journey to be independent.

The curriculum is ambitious. All children, including those who speak English as an additional language, benefit from a language-rich environment, where they practise speaking skills. Teaching methods are used effectively, such as Montessori. Children show high levels of concentration as they choose and learn to master a wide range of challenging activities. Older children show they are independent as they take an active part in the daily routines. They put their shoes on the correct feet and wash, dry and put away their cups after snack. Staff skilfully model learning with younger children, demonstrating and calmly explaining how to use resources and where to put them away once they have finished.

Children know and understand how to behave because staff teach them to be considerate with each other and their environment. They empathise with each other's feelings as they offer a cuddle and say, 'I'm sorry', when they mistakenly run into each other. Staff model behaviour very well, taking time to explain expectations. However, this is approach is not consistently followed when supporting very new children to regulate their behaviour.

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

• Staff create a rich, orderly and accessible indoor and outdoor learning environment. Staff swiftly respond to children's emerging interests as they complete a wild animal puzzle. They use high-quality conversations, posing questions and giving children time to think. Children explore the differences and similarities between Indian and African elephants, they talk about the characteristics of orangutans with their agile arms and consider the height of the giraffe. Staff skilfully extend children's learning, referring to factual books and a picture atlas, helping them to research which continent the different animals originate from.
• Children play harmoniously as they collect and mix the leaves, seeds and soil to make their 'cupcakes' in the mud kitchen. They examine bees that are buzzing in the area, knowing not to antagonise them, as they can sting. Other children explore the giant sunflower heads, carefully picking out the sunflower seeds, examining shape and texture. Staff extend learning, explaining that harvesting seeds now means that they can plant them in the spring. Staff introduce simple mathematical concepts and mathematical language, comparing how many seeds children have altogether and seeing who has 'more and less than'. They help children to count correctly in sequence, posing questions as to which number comes next.
• Activities are skilfully adapted to help all children to achieve, while still providing challenge. Younger children learn how to handle paintbrushes as they paint on their leaf and the paper. Older children learn how to mix paint, referring to a colour palette, to achieve the correct shade of green for their leaf painting.
• Children find out about their own community when they visit sheep in the adjacent field and take trips to the library, fostering a love of books. They make visits to the museum, mosque and synagogue as well as to the local church. They gain an insight into other cultures and the festivals that their friends celebrate, when parents visit to share experiences. Extra-curricular activities, such as weekly science, drama and yoga sessions, offer children enhanced opportunities to find out about the world around them, be creative and learn to look after their own bodies.
• There is a positive attitude towards improvement. The nursery is working towards a sustainable citizenship award, creating a more sustainable environment for the children. New staff are appropriately inducted. All staff receive effective supervision, with some attending additional training. While some staff demonstrate exemplary teaching skills, this is not yet consistently embedded throughout the nursery.
• Parents, several of whom travel distances to attend this nursery, are fully involved in their children's learning. Parents are very complimentary about the service on offer. They recognise the commitment of the nursery during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. They particularly appreciate the support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to achieve their full potential.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support all staff to gain a firmer understanding of the curriculum and how to deliver it in practice, in order to take the quality of teaching throughout the nursery to the highest level
• equip all staff with the knowledge and understanding of how to effectively support children, including those who are new to the nursery or children with SEND, when they struggle to regulate their behaviour.