Forest Hill Montessori Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and engaged in this calm and nurturing environment. They develop warm relationships with staff, which supports their emotional well-being. Children demonstrate high levels of confidence as they engage in quality interactions with adults and their peers.

Children behave well and respond promptly to staff. Expectations are high for all children in this inclusive setting. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make noticeable progress.

Staff put targeted interventions in place to support all children in reaching their full potential. Children are encouraged to make their own choices... and be independent. For example, they pour their own drinks, spread butter and cut fruit safely with a knife at snack time.

Babies quickly learn how to drink from an open cup, and toddlers learn to put their coats on by themselves. There is a library stand in the entrance hall where children can choose a book to take home and share with their family. This promotes language development and enjoyment of reading.

Parents speak positively about the nursery and the care for their children. They are happy with the level of communication through weekly newsletters and daily feedback. Parents are given opportunities to be involved in the life of the nursery through coffee mornings and parent activity days.

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

Staff plan purposeful and challenging activities, building on what children have previously learned. For example, children classify vegetables into groups of what grows above the ground and what grows below the ground after learning about harvesting vegetables and produce from the farm.Staff skilfully question children to check their understanding.

They regularly observe and assess to identify what they need to learn next. Activities are planned around children's interests and individual next steps.Children are focused and engaged in the wide range of activities on offer.

They learn about the changes that take place during autumn while they paint and print with leaves. Older children accurately count leaves and mini pumpkins into numbered pots and are challenged to solve simple addition problems.Children sing familiar songs and listen to stories throughout the day.

They develop their language skills by completing missing phrases to songs and role-playing stories, such as 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' and 'Cave Baby'.Children enjoy healthy meals prepared on site by the chef and learn about the importance of healthy lifestyles. They take part in daily morning exercise activities.

Additionally, they have plenty of opportunities for play in the outdoor spaces and trips to the local parks which also support their physical development.Engaging topics, such as 'transport' and 'people who help us', are enriched through outings on trains and buses or trips to the fire station. Staff also take the children on outings to the local shops to buy ingredients for their regular cookery sessions.

Staff focus on developing children's understanding of their own feelings and emotions. For instance, children look at their own facial expressions in mirrors and point to faces on cards, showing how they are feeling. Children consider how they might behave when they feel a certain way.

This supports children to manage their own feelings and behaviour. When children struggle to regulate their behaviour, staff take appropriate action to support them.Children are well prepared for their next stage of learning and are supported through each transition, including starting school.

Many children are able to recognise the letters and sounds in their names and write their own names.The committed manager reflects on practice in the nursery and strives for continuous improvement. On the whole, staff report they are well supported and feel they can discuss issues with management.

However, some members of staff lack confidence in some areas and are unsure of training or mentoring opportunities available to them to enhance their practice.Children are given opportunities to learn about different cultures through events such as Black History Month, and diversity is celebrated across the nursery. Gender stereotypes are challenged as children learn about the wide range of roles that men and women can do in our society today.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.All staff understand the importance of keeping children safe. Management and staff have improved procedures for checking that staff deployment is effective and children are well supervised at all times.

Changes have been made to the exit systems of the nursery to ensure the safety of all children. Staff check that the environment is free from hazards daily. Staff have a good knowledge of child protection issues and know what action they must take if they are concerned about children in their care or staff in the nursery.

Safer recruitment procedures are implemented effectively to ensure all staff are suitable to work with children. Management continues to check staff suitability throughout their employment.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: plan targeted mentoring and training for all practitioners to ensure their knowledge and practice builds and improves over time.