Unique Child Montessori Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happily engaged in activities in this caring nursery. They have warm, secure relationships with staff, who greet them warmly when they arrive and take time to help them settle well. They use lots of eye contact and calm and soft tones with babies and toddlers. All children feel valued. Staff have high expectations for what children can achieve and support children's learning very well.

The curriculum is securely based on areas of learning. Children learn about the wider world effectively. For example, children are excited to learn about the continents of the world as they explore globes and world puzzles, learning new words such as 'Africa' and 'Antarctica'. Pre-school children learn about the different animals that they may find in each country. They make links in their learning as they read stories from around the world and celebrate differences and similarities. Children are highly inquisitive learners.

Children behave safely. They handle tools, such as scissors, with care and caution. They develop good creative skills. Toddlers explore different textures, such as cereal, crushed biscuits and rice, which they use with toy animals to create imaginary farm scenes. All children develop effective skills in preparation for school.

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

• Staff plan an interesting and motivating curriculum, extending children's learning and building on their interests. Staff set up a home corner in the role-play area to support children's understanding. They support children's mathematical knowledge describing different shapes and counting objects. Language development is prioritised. Babies listen intently during singing sessions. They bounce up and down, babbling furiously, as they sing along to their favourite rhymes.
• Children learn about the world around them. They find worms hidden in soil and become engrossed in watching them move. Staff model how to handle worms gently. Children marvel at the feeling and describe worms as 'slimy' and 'wet'. They observe the worms in cups and use pipettes to carefully drop water on the tail of the worm to see how it wriggles. Staff support children's deeper thinking. They ask them questions, such as, 'How do worms see where they are going?'
• Children learn to be independent from an early age. For instance, babies are encouraged to feed themselves, while toddlers and older children help at snack time, setting up the tables and using tongs to serve their food.
• Children behave well. Staff respond to children with praise and encouragement. They have very positive relationships, frequently laughing and talking together, and use praise to encourage children to act in positive ways. Children have wonderful social skills and are respectful of others.
• Children gain good physical skills. They learn to balance on wheeled toys, climb through tunnels and up ladders and go down slides. Staff play simple ball games with children to develop their physical coordination skills. In addition, there are regular music and movement sessions, which support children's physical development further.
• The manager provides good support to staff. He meets with staff to provide support where needed. For instance, staff have supervisions and peer-on-peer observations, and attend regular staff meetings. This leads to positive improvements in the provision. However, the manager has not fully focused professional development opportunities on supporting each individual staff member to develop their skills even further, to ensure the highest levels of teaching.
• Overall, staff plan a wide range of activities that support children to learn about their body. For instance, pre-school children explain that 'everyone needs a heart to pump their blood', as they learn about muscles, organs and bones. Furthermore, staff provide healthy, nutritious meals. However, staff do not make the best use of these opportunities to help maximise children's understanding of the benefits a good diet has for their bodies.
• Parents are very happy with the nursery's service. They describe staff as 'wonderful' and 'amazing'. They report that their children are making great progress and love attending. Parents feel well informed via daily handovers and an online app. The manager is passionate about supporting families and works closely with them to support children's care and development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend children's understanding of how healthy eating habits contribute to their overall health
• strengthen staff training and professional development opportunities further to focus more precisely on helping all staff build on their knowledge, understanding and skills.