The Rainbow Montessori Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children come confidently into the setting and quickly settle to play. The manager is clear about what she wants children to learn and ensures that staff know this too. The curriculum is broad, with a focus on developing children's independence, respect for others, and ability to think critically. Children gain the skills they need in readiness for school. They do things for themselves and independently select activities that interest them. Staff provide gentle support that helps to engage the children. Children become absorbed in the activities they have chosen, showing enthusiasm and a keenness to learn.

Staff quickly identify when children need additional support. They work in partnership with parents and other professionals to plan the support for these children and to ensure that the provision meets the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The curriculum is ambitious for children of all abilities, and children make good progress in their development.

There are effective partnerships with parents. Parents can stay for a short while to play with their children, and their children enthusiastically show them their favourite activities. This enhances parents' understanding of how their children are learning and gives new ideas for supporting learning at home. Parents are highly complimentary of staff and the communication that they receive about their child's progress.

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

• Staff introduce children to a wide range of vocabulary, and engage in meaningful interactions with children. Children are developing the skills to communicate with each other and staff. For example, children talk about the actions they are doing so that others can copy, and they confidently describe to staff what they are doing.
• Children show imagination and creativity in their play. For example, they draw their own designs to make from coloured blocks, imitating the pre-printed patterns they see. Children then create these patterns using the blocks, explaining their ideas to staff. This shows children's independence and sense of purpose in their play. Staff offer to laminate the designs, enhancing children's sense of pride in their achievements.
• Staff work with parents and other professionals to develop plans to support children where specific needs are identified. However, at times, staff do not fully know the support plans in place for children with SEND, so are unable to effectively implement them to support children in developing their learning further.
• Children confidently count beads on a chain, and match this with the correct numeral. This demonstrates a secure knowledge of number. Staff identify what children already know and can do to support them well to develop further.
• Staff support children to learn to be independent by encouraging them to serve themselves at snack and mealtimes and help themselves to the resources they need for their chosen activities. Older children use their independence skills to help other children. For example, children pass the milk jug to their friends, and politely ask staff for more milk when it is empty.
• Children generally behave well. Staff have clear boundaries and expectations for children's behaviour and gently intervene when needed to remind children of how to behave. Children show respect for their environment and for each other, for example, by sharing resources with other children, speaking respectfully, and putting resources away when they have finished with them.
• The setting has clear routines throughout the day. However, at times, these routines do not encourage children to interact together to make mealtimes an opportunity to develop their social skills, or allow children with SEND to join in as well as they could with their peers. For example, children with SEND enjoy sitting with their peers for their snack and being a part of the group. However, at lunchtime, these children start their lunch on their own before the rest of the group come into the room. As a result, they finish eating and go to play soon after their friends sit for lunch, limiting their opportunity to socialise with other children at mealtimes.
• Managers ensure that staff access training to develop their professional skills and knowledge. For example, after attending training on children's emotions, staff have developed activities and the environment to help children to learn about their emotions.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that all staff know the next steps for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities so they can provide more-targeted and consistent support, so that children benefit fully from the learning opportunities offered
• ensure that staff better support all children during routines, to further develop children's social skills.