Townsend Montessori @ Maidstone

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff warmly greet children as they arrive, which helps children to settle well. Children are excited to begin their day at nursery. They have strong bonds with their key person and familiar staff, who know them extremely well. Staff are good role models for children and encourage them to learn the behavioural expectations. Children learn to be kind, caring and thoughtful towards each other. Children learn about healthy eating and develop independence as they are encouraged to put on coats, pour drinks and serve themselves at mealtimes. Staff remind children to wash their hands and help them to understand about the importance of good personal hygiene.

Children benefit from accessing a broad curriculum. The curriculum provides a range of opportunities for children to develop and practise their physical skills. For example, younger children are encouraged to move safely around furniture to help develop their early walking and balancing skills. Older children are motivated to take part in activities to build on their large motor skills. They carefully climb up the steps of the climbing frame, and they walk, balance and jump over small objects as part of an obstacle course. Staff provide opportunities for children to develop their fine motor skills, take turns, share and listen to each other. For example, children use different-sized containers to pour and transport sand and talk about how the sand feels on their hands.

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

• Staff provide a curriculum that follows children's interests. They know children extremely well, including what they can do and what they want them to learn next. Staff carefully use their observations and knowledge of their key children to help them to plan activities to build on children's skills. Staff complete the progress check at age two and make regular assessments to enable them to successfully assess children's development and identify any gaps in their learning. Consequently, children make good progress.
• The knowledgeable special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is extremely passionate about supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The SENCo works very closely alongside staff, parents, and other professionals to ensure that children's care and learning needs are consistently met. For example, she ensures there is effective communication with other settings children attend and that individual plans are consistent. This supports children to achieve their full potential in relation to their capabilities.
• The manager shows a good commitment to the professional development of the team. Staff regularly meet with leaders for supervision meetings. This helps to support staff's practice and identify any additional training to support their professional development. The manager places a high priority on the well-being of staff. As a result, staff feel valued, supported, and enjoy working at the nursery.
• Overall, staff work effectively to develop children's communication and language skills. For example, staff model language well. They regularly sing songs, introduce new words to younger children and read stories with enthusiasm. Staff support children who speak English as an additional language effectively. They use words in children's home language to help develop their ability to communicate their needs and build on their understanding of new words. Children respond well to staff's interactions and are eager to take part in new activities. However, at times, during some adult-led activities, children are not always given sufficient time to respond to questions. This means that, at times, some children do not have opportunities to build on their thinking skills.
• Parents speak positively about the nursery. They are extremely happy with the level of communication from staff about their children's learning experiences. Parents comment that they feel their child's key person knows their children very well, and they receive personal feedback about their progress. Parents state that their children are making good progress in their development due to the support they receive at the nursery.
• Children learn about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They are offered healthy meals and have plenty of access to fresh air and physical exercise. However, during parts of the day when children move between activities, such as during lunchtime and when going outdoors, the routine is not always well organised to meet children's needs. At times, children are waiting too long and become restless, and their learning is not fully maximised.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's interactions with children to allow them more time to respond to questions and further develop their thinking and communication skills
• review and improve the organisation of the daily routine to avoid unnecessary waiting and ensure children's individual needs are consistently supported.