Bubar Montessori Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are highly motivated to learn and extremely happy and settled in this welcoming and friendly nursery. Staff work hard from the outset to build exceptional relationships with children. They have high expectations of children's behaviour.

Staff use very specific praise to promote children's strong attitudes of how they should behave and to recognise their achievements. For instance, children are encouraged to fill a 'Kindness Jar', where they demonstrate acts of kindness each day to show friendship, care and concern for friends. Staff identify children's starting points when they join the nursery and what they need to ac...hieve for their future success.

The curriculum is mainly well planned. Children's early literacy development is promoted well. The reading area is equipped with a box containing props to encourage children to act out the roles of characters from stories.

For example, staff shared books with children and used real tropical fruits to retell their favourite stories. Children proudly described each fruit and compared the differences between the mangos and passion fruits that featured in the story.

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

Strong leadership, regular self-evaluation and effective team working contribute to a well-organised provision.

The manager supervises and supports the staff to reflect on their practice. She carries out peer observations which help them to evaluate the practice of others. She ensures the staff have access to appropriate training, to further their continuous professional development.

Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff invite parents into the setting to participate in children's activities. They discuss children's ongoing development with their parents regularly.

They offer books to parents and give them ideas of how to extend their children's learning in the home environment. Parents express their utmost satisfaction with the nursery. They describe how settled and happy their children are.

Children's personal development is rigorously promoted. Staff talk positively to children during care routines. Staff are very conscientious about supporting children to learn to move safely around the nursery.

Children benefit from exciting physical activities in and out of the setting. For instance, they have opportunities to strengthen their muscles as they use the indoor trapeze. In addition, a yoga teacher delivers calm yoga sessions and praises children's growing skills in holding poses, listening to their breathing and relaxing.

Staff are skilled in their teaching methods as they introduce mathematical concepts to enhance children's numeracy skills and build on children's imaginary play experiences. For instance, staff set up the role-play area as a small supermarket. Children buy real potatoes and vegetables, and cart them around in small wheelbarrows.

They use play money and cash registers, and have opportunities to count, group, and recognise numbers on notes and coins.Staff provide rich and varied opportunities for children to learn about the local and wider community. For example, children collect tins and packet foods for a local food bank.

Through exciting activities and stories, children learn about the similarities and differences between themselves and others. This contributes exceedingly well to their developing empathy for other people.Staff teach children exceptionally well about expected behaviour through gentle, consistent messages and very clear boundaries.

Children develop exceptional levels of emotional well-being and their behaviour is exemplary.Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills well. Staff listen to children and ask open-ended questions to engage children in conversation.

However, on occasions, staff are overenthusiastic and answer questions they ask before giving children the time to think and respond, and come up with their own ideas.In the main, staff plan well and respond to children's emerging interests successfully, to help them make good progress. For instance, children access a range of resources linked to birthdays and sing 'Happy Birthday' to their friends.

However, particularly in large-group activities, there are occasions when staff give insufficient consideration to the needs of younger children. As a result, their concentration wanders and they do not benefit fully from the learning experience.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have a very sound knowledge of safeguarding. They know what do to if they have a concern about a child, another member of staff or the manager. The provider ensures that staff are aware of wider safeguarding issues, such as the 'Prevent' duty and the dangers of having extreme views.

There are rigorous recruitment and induction procedures that staff undertake to ensure they are suitable for their roles and responsibilities. Staff complete risk assessments to ensure activities and the nursery environment are safe for the children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide more time for children to think and respond to questions, to help them to share their thoughts and ideas and develop their critical thinking skills review how children in the nursery are organised for some large-group activities, to support younger children's concentration and engagement.