Wetherby House Montessori Kensal Village Ltd

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders have established an inclusive culture where children and families are welcomed, valued and supported. Staff work closely with parents from the outset to understand each child's individual needs, helping children settle well, develop secure relationships and feel safe and confident. Leaders have effective systems to identify children who may need additional support. Regular observations, assessment and partnership working with families enable staff to recognise emerging needs and respond promptly, including for children who speak English as an additional language. Leaders work effectively with external agencies to secure timely advice and targeted support. As a result, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make appropriate progress and participate fully alongside their peers.

Children benefit from an environment that reflects and celebrates diversity. Staff represent a range of cultures and languages, providing positive role models and helping children develop respect for others through planned celebrations, books, resources and everyday conversations. Leaders also ensure disadvantaged children can access educational visits and wider learning experiences, removing barriers to participation and strengthening children's sense of belonging. However, planned learning is not always adapted precisely enough to children's differing ages, stages of development and prior learning. Consequently, some children do not consistently benefit from teaching that builds effectively on what they already know and can do.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum that successfully combines the principles of the early years foundation stage with the nursery's Montessori approach. The curriculum reflects the differing needs of babies, toddlers and older children, with a clear emphasis on communication and language, physical development, personal, social and emotional development, and increasing independence. This provides children with secure foundations for future learning.

Staff gather detailed information about children's routines, interests and developmental starting points. This enables them to establish secure relationships and plan learning that generally engages and motivates children. For example, children enthusiastically investigate a volcano experiment, making predictions, observing changes and using new vocabulary to describe what they see. Leaders work closely with parents by sharing curriculum themes and providing workshops that help families continue children's learning at home.

Teaching is generally effective and staff support children's communication through meaningful conversations, questioning and the introduction of new vocabulary. However, opportunities to develop children's mathematical understanding are not consistently embedded across the curriculum. Staff do not always make the best use of everyday experiences to extend children's mathematical thinking or introduce mathematical language purposefully. Consequently, opportunities to deepen children's understanding of number, measure and problem-solving are sometimes missed.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children make appropriate progress from their individual starting points and develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed for the next stage in their learning. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive timely support and participate fully in nursery life.

Children develop communication and language through meaningful conversations, stories and first-hand experiences. They show increasing independence and sustained concentration, for example as younger children carefully spoon and pour coloured rice for extended periods, developing their fine motor control and perseverance. Older children confidently recognise and match animals to picture cards, demonstrating secure recall of familiar knowledge. They also become well prepared for school through developing confidence, resilience and self-care skills. However, staff do not consistently extend children's learning during planned activities. For example, older children's knowledge is not developed beyond matching animals to picture cards. Consequently, children to do not make as much progress as they could in some areas of their learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Children behave well and demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning. They arrive happily, separate confidently from their parents and quickly become engaged in the activities available. Warm, nurturing relationships with staff help children feel emotionally secure, creating a calm and welcoming environment where they are ready to learn. Staff promote kindness, respect and consideration for others through clear expectations and positive interactions. Children learn to share, cooperate and take turns during play. They make choices, solve simple problems and develop independence through everyday routines. For example, at mealtimes children confidently serve themselves, pour their own drinks and clear away their plates and cups, helping them develop responsibility and self-care skills.

Daily routines provide children with a clear and predictable structure. Staff work closely with parents to understand children's individual needs before they start, helping them settle quickly. Older children manage transitions well and prepare for school by developing confidence and independence. Leaders work positively with families to promote regular attendance and continuity in children's learning. On occasion, a small number of children throw resources that are not intended for throwing. Staff do not always respond at the time to reinforce expectations or explain how resources should be used safely. As a result, some opportunities to strengthen children's understanding of safe and appropriate behaviour are missed.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Children's health, safety and emotional wellbeing are promoted effectively. Staff develop warm, nurturing relationships with children, helping them to feel safe, secure and valued. Positive partnerships with parents ensure staff understand each child's individual care needs, routines and interests, enabling children to settle quickly and develop secure attachments with familiar adults. Children benefit from healthy, balanced meals prepared by the nursery's onsite chef and enjoy regular opportunities to develop healthy lifestyles. Sports sessions, yoga, creative activities and outdoor learning experiences encourage children to be physically active. Discussions about healthy eating, oral health and visits from healthcare professionals help children develop an age-appropriate understanding of how to keep themselves well. Regular visits to parks and the local community further promote children's health and wellbeing.

Staff generally promote good hygiene routines throughout the day. Children wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet, tables are cleaned before mealtimes and staff encourage children to drink water regularly to stay hydrated. During role play, children are encouraged to wash fruit before eating, helping them learn healthy habits through play. However, staff do not always model the nursery's expected hygiene practices consistently. For example, the shoe-free expectations in areas used by younger children are not always followed. Consequently, children do not receive consistently clear messages about the importance of maintaining good hygiene.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders have established a welcoming and inclusive nursery with high aspirations for all children. They have developed an ambitious curriculum that reflects the nursery's Montessori ethos while meeting the requirements of the early years foundation stage. Leaders have strengthened the provision through improvements to the settling in process, the reorganisation of learning spaces to better meet children's developmental needs and increased support for apprentices. These changes have contributed positively to children's experiences and wellbeing.

Leaders demonstrate a strong commitment to inclusion. They have developed expertise across the staff team by training several special educational needs coordinators, enabling children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to receive timely support. Effective partnerships with parents, the local authority and other professionals help ensure children receive the help they need at the earliest opportunity. Staff benefit from regular supervision, safeguarding training and opportunities to work collaboratively. Leaders also engage parents through workshops and regular communication, helping families support children's learning at home.

Leaders monitor the quality of the provision and have identified appropriate priorities for improvement, including enhancing outdoor learning opportunities and continuing to develop the curriculum. However, self-evaluation is not yet sufficiently systematic to identify the professional development priorities that will have the greatest impact on improving the quality of teaching and curriculum implementation. Consequently, professional development is not always targeted precisely enough to secure consistently effective teaching and curriculum implementation across the nursery. Overall, leaders have established effective systems that support children's care, learning and development. They have an accurate understanding of the nursery's strengths and areas for improvement and demonstrate the capacity to continue improving the quality of the provision.