Harlequin Montessori Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy their time at nursery. They are happy, confident and emotionally secure in this welcoming environment.

Children develop friendships with each other and play cheerfully together. They form positive bonds with the caring staff and engage busily in a wide range of stimulating and enjoyable experiences. Following the Montessori philosophy of teaching, staff plan activities for children that have a start and end, which helps encourage children's sense of achievement in completing tasks.

Children show high levels of motivation and concentration as they carefully choose and master a wide range of challenging ac...tivities. They take great pride in these achievements and show a strong confidence in their own abilities.Children trace around letters printed in rough sandpaper with their fingers.

They learn about the shape and sound of letters and enjoy opportunities to test out their knowledge, such as recognising these letters in books they share with adults. Children are very well behaved. Staff sensitively support them to understand their emotions.

Children feel safe and secure as staff are consistent in their expectations. Staff give lots of praise and encouragement during activities, which supports children's confidence and self-esteem.

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

The ambitious managers work closely with their dedicated staff to create a nurturing nursery with a strong, family ethos.

Staff know the children very well and build warm and trusting bonds with each of them. Staff provide a calm, loving and friendly environment, in which children are happy and confident to learn.The knowledgeable, enthusiastic managers are effective in evaluating staff teaching practice and securing ongoing development that improves children's experiences and learning outcomes.

They work regularly with staff to consider ways to develop or improve their provision further. Recent training in supporting early language development has enabled staff to skilfully help children to become even better communicators.Staff get to know children and their families very well.

Parents comment on how welcome and supported they feel and say that their children love attending. Staff keep parents informed about their children's care and progress and offer helpful suggestions about how parents can extend and support their children's learning at home.Children make good progress from their varying starting points.

Staff talk confidently about children's current levels of development. They regularly observe children at play and complete assessments of children's learning and development. However, staff do not always respond to children's emerging interests, allowing them to be spontaneous and develop their creativity even further.

After finishing activities, staff encourage children to pack away before starting another activity. Children understand this routine and enjoy learning to do things for themselves. Older children help those who have recently started by showing them where to put things when they have finished.

Children have opportunities to be physically active during the day. They develop coordination and build on their large-muscle skills as they negotiate mazes they make out of wooden bricks. However, staff do not consistently make the best use of outdoor areas and do not provide as many opportunities to extend and support learning for those children who prefer to learn outside.

Children are encouraged to have their own opinions and to make choices. Staff offer a selection of books that could be read later in the day and ask children which one they would like. Children confidently make their decisions, attaching a peg to the book they would like to hear.

Staff prioritise time to share books with children. Children are excited as they join in with actions and parts of the story they know. They demonstrate a love of reading from a young age.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The managers and staff are knowledgeable about the types of abuse and concerns that might alert them that a child's welfare or safety is being compromised. They complete safeguarding training to ensure that they have a secure understanding of who to contact if they need guidance or to raise a concern.

Managers vigilantly check staff suitability and use robust recruitment procedures to minimise risks to the children. They understand the procedures to follow in the event of an allegation against staff.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nenhance the use of outdoor areas to offer children who prefer to learn outside further play and learning opportunities nincrease opportunities for children to be more spontaneous in their play and extend their creativity.

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