College Fields Montessori Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children are keen to enter this welcoming nursery, showing they feel safe and at ease.

Staff warmly welcome them and their parents, showing interest in them and their news. Parents enjoy coming in to see what their children choose to play with and how they find their friends to join in. Children quickly choose their favourite activities, such as drawing and imaginative play.

Staff, sometimes sit and talk to the children about what they are doing and offer them praise and encouragement for their achievements. This helps to boost children's self-esteem. The provider has a clear curriculum in place and some of this is based ...on the Montessori approach to children's learning.

Children learn about the world around them through some interesting themes. Although staff assess the children's progress, they do not use this information to swiftly access advice from outside professionals to ensure children receive consistent and effective support. Therefore, some children do not catch up in their learning as quickly as possible.

The provider has struggled with recruitment and does not ensure the requirements for qualified staff are met during all sessions. As a result, at certain times, children do not receive the necessary adult support to challenge and extend their learning. For example, some older children do not show sustained focus on their activities and take time to settle and engage in their learning.

Children are supported to develop their independence. For example, they take off and put on their coats and shoes, put their name in the post box, help hand out plates at snack time and tidy away the toys. However, staff do not ensure some older children are supported with toilet training in readiness for school.

Children form positive friendships and play well together. They use their imaginations well, such as during role play. Staff help children to manage their feelings and negotiate during their play.

For example, older children wait their turn when there are not enough resources for all of them.

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

The provider is in breach of some of the requirements, however, these do not have a significant impact on children's safety or learning. Children's arrival times are staggered, and their times of attendance are not recorded.

As a result, staff do not have an accurate record of children's arrival and departure times should a safeguarding incident occur.During some sessions, there are not sufficient qualified staff, as is required. This impacts on the quality of interactions children receive and means children do not always receive effective support to help them make good progress.

Children's behaviour is very good. They share and take turns and form positive relationships with others. Staff encourage children to talk about their feelings, such as if they become upset or frustrated.

This helps children to learn to manage their emotions.The provider monitors staff practice but does not formally use her feedback to continually improve practice. Therefore, at times, staff's interactions do not challenge and extend children's learning, particularly the older ones.

The provider has attended some online training and has some ideas to put in place to offer children more opportunities to learn about mechanics. For example, she intends to introduce pulleys and drainpipes in the garden for the children to investigate and find out how things work.Staff monitor children's progress and identify when additional support may be needed, such as with speech and language delay.

At times, staff sit with children and offer some effective support. However, they do not involve outside agencies quickly enough to ensure that any gaps in children's learning are reduced.Children develop a positive attitude towards fresh air and exercise.

In the garden children enjoy racing around on the balance bikes, showing good control. Staff talk to them about why they feel warm and want to take off their coats, helping them understand the positive effects of exercise on their bodies. Other children are keen to play games with staff, who encourage the children to count their steps as they play, 'What's the time Mr Wolf?', introducing some simple mathematics.

Partnerships with parents are positive overall. Parents report that their children thoroughly enjoy coming to nursery and their children come home singing new songs they have learned. Parents report that communication with staff is good, and they know what their children are learning about.

However, staff do not consider how they can better support parents to understand how they can provide help to prepare their child for school, such as helping them to gain self-care skills as soon as possible.Staff provide plenty of resources for children to develop their hand-to-eye skills and finger muscles in readiness for writing. Children use the practical life skills activities to scoop, pour and move small objects between containers and squeeze and mould dough with their hands.

However, at times staff do not challenge the older children to develop these skills further. For example, staff cut out a jellyfish shape, the tentacles and put on sticky tape, rather than encouraging children to develop and practise these skills for themselves.Staff read stories to children with enthusiasm and use different tones of voices to engage them.

Staff encourage children to join in with repeated words and children show they are familiar with these as they enthusiastically shout out, 'stomp', 'shake' and 'shudder'. This helps broaden children's vocabulary. Children enjoy joining in with songs, greeting and learning one another's names.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must: Due date maintain a daily record of the names of the children being cared for on the premises and their hours of attendance 27/01/2025 ensure that at least half of all staff, other than the manager, hold at least an approved level 2 qualification 12/03/2025 ensure staff liaise with parents and outside agencies more swiftly when emerging gaps in children's development are identified, to ensure support is put in place quickly to help them catch up 24/02/2025 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: work more closely with parents to ensure they understand the importance of supporting their children's self-care skills earlier, in preparation for school provide coaching and training for staff to help them offer more challenge to the older children, to help them make better progress.