Monkey Puzzle Golders Green

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff provide children with a safe and engaging environment.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They focus heavily on providing opportunities for children to become independent and take responsibility for their own environment. Staff choose children to take part in daily routines, such as being 'special helpers' for the day.

Children show they are proud and enjoy helping their friends set up tables for lunch. Staff swiftly identify positive behaviour, such as sharing and turn-taking, and praise children. This helps children to understand what is expected in a positive way.

Staff implement a... broad curriculum that supports children well. Staff encourage children by skilfully including elements of mathematics into all activities. For example, younger children explore shapes and colours.

Older children use language of size and identify numbers. For instance, older children successfully identify big, medium and small beds from the book 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'. The manager and staff provide children with special educational needs and/or disabilities with a learning environment that is supportive of their needs.

The manager works closely with outside agencies and parents to ensure that children receive the best support.

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

Leaders strive for continuous improvement. They place great emphasis on staff training and ensure that all staff have opportunities to gain recognised early years qualifications.

Staff receive regular supervision meetings, allowing them to discuss their professional development and key children. Staff report high levels of well-being and enjoy being part of this supportive team.Overall, children access a curriculum that follows their interests and builds on what they already know and can do.

However, staff do not always plan and implement the curriculum with precision to sequentially build the knowledge and skills that younger children need to acquire. For example, staff sometimes expect toddlers to recognise 2D shapes that are too difficult for their individual levels of development.Staff provide activities to develop children's physical skills.

For example, babies skilfully scoop sand into buckets to make sandcastles. Older children demonstrate good coordination skills as they practise throwing balls into the basketball net. These activities support the development of children's fine and gross motor skills and build their self-esteem.

Overall, staff place great focus on children's communication and language development. Staff working with babies introduce single words and model conversation. They skilfully repeat words back to children and allow them time to copy and build on their growing vocabulary.

Overall, children are confident communicators. However, occasionally, staff interrupt younger children's learning during group times to begin routines and engage in conversation with each other. This does not support them to focus on the activities effectively.

Additionally, it makes it harder for toddlers to develop their concentration and listening skills and disturbs the overall quality of their learning experiences.Children's understanding of good hygiene practice and personal care is promoted well by staff. For example, babies and children wash their hands regularly.

Staff consider all dietary requirements or allergies children may have. They provide a healthy balanced menu, which is shared with parents. This helps to ensure that children have a healthy and well-balanced diet.

Staff talk with children as they eat, promoting good manners and social interaction at mealtimes.Staff promote early literacy skills well through the setting. For instance, pre-school children visit the library each week for a story session.

They are excited to explore the stories that are available in the library and setting. Children relish listening to 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' and talk about how each bear feels and why. Children retell the story through chalk drawings on the garden floor.

Staff value children's emerging writing skills.Parents speak highly of staff and the care they offer. They comment on the high-quality communication they receive about their children's development.

Parents comment that the nursery is amazing, and they feel staff are trustworthy. Parents value the close relationships children form with staff and how this supports their well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of how to keep children safe. They are fully aware of the signs and indicators that could mean a child is at risk of harm or abuse. They know what to do if they have a concern about a child or a member of staff and the procedures to follow.

Staff attend regular training and take part in quizzes that test their knowledge. Staff closely supervise children in the nursery and conduct thorough risk assessments when children go on outings to ensure that they remain safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: plan and implement the curriculum with more precision to sequentially build the knowledge and skills that younger children need to acquire review ways to reduce interruptions, particularly during group times, to promote younger children's concentration and listening skills and optimise their learning experiences.