Hare Hatch Montessori

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children are highly confident, independent and motivated learners. The curriculum expertly aims to ensure children have a wide range of exciting opportunities that skilfully prepare them for their next stages in learning. All children behave exceptionally well.

The setting follows a Montessori approach to education. All children make outstanding progress in their learning, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. Children have high levels of curiosity as they explore the exciting range of resources and activities provided, inside and outdoor...s.

Children enjoy highly exciting and challenging opportunities that develop their physical skills. For example, they explore the exceptionally well-equipped garden. They take risks as they balance across planks and climb low trees.

Staff successfully teach children about the importance of keeping fit and healthy. For instance, all children understand the importance of handwashing and demonstrate that they know to cover their mouth and nose when coughing.The manager demonstrates exceptional leadership and support for her dedicated and committed staff team.

She creates an environment of reflective practice with all staff, who are eager for further training and professional development. The continuous drive for excellence is evident in the staff's attitudes and commitment to providing the highest level of teaching. Staff feel valued and strive to create a nursery where children have the opportunity to excel and reach their full potential.

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

Children are supported exceptionally well in their emotional development. They build strong bonds with their key person. All staff are extremely calm and caring towards the children.

Children display high levels of positive behaviour. They are exceptionally well behaved and polite. Older children use good manners without being prompted by staff.

Staff are excellent role models. They use calm, quiet voices when interacting with children, who respond positively in the same peaceful manner.Partnerships with parents are outstanding.

Staff work extremely closely with parents and include them fully in their child's learning. Carefully planned settling-in procedures, including home visits, enable staff to gather as much information as possible about what children are able to do before they start. Staff support children who cannot attend the nursery.

For example, they create 'learning boxes' from children's interests and deliver them to parents to support their child's learning at home. Parents are highly complimentary about the care provided, the exceptionally caring staff and the very good progress their children make.Superb support for children's emerging language is a key element in the nursery's success.

Staff are excellent role models. They introduce letter sounds to teach older children how to form words. Children identify objects, sounding out three-letter words.

They choose the correct wooden letters to build the words and excitedly read them back to their friends and staff.Children thoroughly enjoy music sessions and develop an understanding of music and rhythmic patterns. For example, staff play the xylophone, and children eagerly guess the song, sing along and use instruments to create their own music.

Children explore cause and effect while creating sounds with the electric keyboard. Staff support them to understand the different tempos of music and how sounds can be changed with the press of a button.Children are provided with a superb range of experiences which they explore with awe and wonder, using all their senses.

For example, young children choose lavender to crush in a pestle and mortar. They scoop the flowers and create simple pouches which staff help to tie with ribbon.Mathematics skills, such as time and estimating, are easily incorporated into children's play experiences.

Staff provide children with plenty of time to think and respond to questions they pose. This helps encourage their oral and critical-thinking skills. For instance, children explore how quickly ice melts in the warm nursery.

Staff encourage them to predict how long it will take for all the animals to be freed from the ice. Counting skills are also encouraged naturally. For example, staff ensure that number rhymes feature heavily throughout the day and even the youngest children readily join in, counting backwards from 10 during favourite songs.

Books are used in every area of the nursery. Children learn about different dinosaurs from factual books. Staff add a range of fossils and children spend long periods of time completely absorbed in exploring a variety of ammonites.

Staff teach children words such as 'extinct' and 'prehistoric' and children ask a wide range of interesting questions, including wondering how ammonites might have moved.Partnerships with local schools, other professionals and early years settings are all excellent and contribute to the outstanding provision and the exemplary support for children's learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The managers and staff work extremely hard to ensure that children within their care are protected. They have an excellent knowledge and understanding of the signs of abuse and the procedures they would follow and implement, including for wider safeguarding issues, such as the 'Prevent' duty. The manager constantly reviews staff knowledge through regular training, staff meetings and supervision sessions.

Recruitment procedures are rigorous and robust. Staff complete daily risk assessments of the indoor and outdoor environments, to ensure children's well-being and safety. The premises are secure and close monitoring at arrival and departure times ensures that children are met safely by parents and carers.