Blue Skies Montessori Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive excited to start their day and quickly become engaged in planned, purposeful play. Children participate in all routines of the day and show a high level of involvement.

Children settle exceptionally well. They form trusting bonds with their key person, who is incredibly knowledgeable about their individual developmental needs. Learning is personalised to help children to make good progress.

Staff continually strive to help children to 'achieve their true potential'. Children are highly cooperative towards one another. They listen exceptionally well to instructions from staff and their peers.

St...aff give children a choice about what they would like to do. This fosters children's independence in their play. Children contentedly select what they would like to play with from well-planned resources.

Staff keep the environment well organised for children. Therefore, children learn to take pride and respect in their surroundings, helping to keep it tidy. Staff are excellent role models for children.

They take the time to talk to children individually, which promotes a positive learning atmosphere. Children develop ways to self-regulate their behaviour exceptionally. They demonstrate high levels of self-control throughout the day.

Children behave beautifully, sharing and cooperating with their friends. Children show excellent attitudes towards learning about the world in which they live. They try hard in all aspects of the day which helps them to master skills for the future.

These include, holding a pencil, recognising letter sounds and developing confidence to carry out self-care tasks independently.

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

The long-standing staff team tailors learning for children well. Staff encourage children to always try hard and concentrate on more challenging tasks, while incorporating their interests.

For example, staff create a counting game using a truck and boxes. This helps children to develop their mathematical knowledge and concept of numbers and quantity. Children are highly motivated in their learning and eager to join in.

Staff are focused on developing children's love of books and literacy skills, because they too love reading. The setting has a vast range of books to support learning. Children practise their recall of events in the story and have discussions about characters.

They access non-fiction texts and research facts together with staff. This helps them to make sense of new experiences. Staff carefully select core stories that help children to embed useful literacy skills and develop their knowledge of reading in preparation for school.

Children learn about the wider world. Staff and children share photographs from their holidays and learn about other countries they have visited. Staff use their interest in travel and exploring different cultures, which enthuses children's curiosity about lives different to their own.

Children use and share their home languages with their peers. Staff organise special events that are personalised for families, such as for St David's Day. Children and parents beam with pride, knowing their identity and heritage is recognised and respected.

Children's previous experiences and learning are considered as part of curriculum planning. Staff support children's role play and imagination skills very well. For example, children work together to make 'soup'.

They cooperatively pass each other the bowls and discuss the ingredients. Children play harmoniously together in the home corner. They practise and develop their language and communication skills to good levels.

Staff are proactive in continuously developing their own knowledge. They access training and research new ways to enhance the quality of their teaching. For example, staff recently accessed training on self-regulation.

This has helped them to engage better with children and understand the needs behind their emotions. Consequently, children show high levels of confidence in social situations and express themselves incredibly well.Staff provide opportunities for children to practise gripping, pinching and squeezing with their fingers.

This helps develop the small muscles in their hands. Consequently, children develop their expressive drawing and early writing skills very well. In the garden, children learn balance and coordination skills as they use bicycles and scooters.

They run and move their bodies as they push dolls and teddy bears around in prams. However, staff do not always effectively sequence the curriculum for children to engage in more challenging physical skills. Consequently, children do not always develop their large muscles and core strength.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff are knowledgeable about safeguarding issues that could impact children's welfare. They are confident in the procedures to follow if an allegation is made about a colleague or if they have concerns about a child.

Staff extend their vigilance beyond the children in their care. Staff can recognise and understand that changes in children's behaviour could indicate a safeguarding concern. The provider carries out appropriate risk assessments.

She ensures that the environment is well maintained and free from hazards. Staff practise emergency evacuations with children to help them to feel confident and know how to behave in case of an emergency.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen the curriculum for physical development, to enable children to develop their large-muscle skills and core strength.