Unique Child Montessori Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are keen to get involved in the activities on offer and show positive attitudes to their learning. For example, they proudly share their observational paintings of spring flowers with staff. Staff find out and plan for children's interests and learning needs. Staff provide opportunities for children to develop the skills required for the future. Children develop a keen interest in reading. They choose to look at books and enthusiastically listen to stories that staff read during the day.

All children progress from their starting points, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children show that they feel happy, relaxed and secure in the care of the staff, which ensures that all children are emotionally ready to learn.

The nursery follows the Montessori approach, and children thoroughly enjoy the experiences that staff provide for them. Staff support children's independence and self-help skills well. The curriculum is ambitious for all children. It has a clear focus on helping children to acquire the key skills they need for their future learning, such as communication and language, mathematical and literacy skills.

Staff are consistent in their expectations of children's behaviour. They give children clear guidance and instructions. Children know what to expect and how they should behave. Staff give children positive praise for their achievements.

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

• The recently appointed manager is enthusiastic in her role. The nursery has staff who are developing their own knowledge and skills through their ongoing professional development to enhance their practice. Staff benefit from regular supervision and training and feel well supported by the manager. Although this helps to raise staff morale and improve outcomes for children, the systems for monitoring the quality of staff's practice and knowledge are not securely embedded to raise the effectiveness of the staff to a higher level.
• Key-person systems are highly effective. Staff watch children closely to find out what they know and can do. They use their observations to plan activities that help children to make progress across their areas of learning.
• Overall, staff interact well with children and support and extend their play. However, at times, staff do not give children enough time to think and respond to questions, such as when staff question children about what they can taste during food tasting activities.
• Children, including those who speak English as an additional language, are becoming confident communicators. Staff are effective role models. They use clear speech and repeat simple words and phrases to secure children's understanding. Children enjoy hearing stories and singing rhymes. Staff use different methods, such as visual cues, to support children's communication skills. Staff use stories and mark-making activities to develop children's early literacy skills.
• Staff support children to develop their mathematics skills. Children confidently count and recognise and write numerals as they measure footsteps made by staff. Staff introduce the names of shapes as children play.
• There is a good focus on encouraging children's physical development. Children use the outdoor space every day. Children play outside with ride-on toys and learn about the natural world as they learn about the lifecycle of snails. They run, climb and balance with enthusiasm.
• Partnership with parents is good. Parents are positive about the setting and the care and attention their children receive from staff. They highlight how much progress their children have made over time. Parents appreciate the information they regularly receive about their children's progress and the ideas for how to support their learning at home. Staff work closely with parents and professionals from other agencies to identify children with SEND early.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the monitoring of staff practice so that gaps in staff's knowledge and understanding are promptly identified and addressed
• give children more time to think and respond to questions to support their thinking skills further.