Nightingale 1 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 the 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.

Staff follow the Montessori philosophy of teaching. They plan activities that have a start and an end, to help encourage children's sense of achievement in completing tasks. Children show very high levels of motivation and concentration.

They carefully choose and master a wide range of challengin...g activities. Staff expertly join children at these times to extend children's thinking skills further. However, very occasionally, some parts of the day are not as well organised as others.

Children take great pride in their achievements, confidently designing their own books as they celebrate World Book Day. They show a strong confidence in their own abilities. Children practise skills, such as cutting materials to decorate Elmer the elephant and chopping fruit for their snack, to support their fine motor skills.

Children are exceptionally independent and extremely well behaved. Staff give children lots of praise and encouragement during activities, which helps to support children's confidence and self-esteem. Staff successfully use observations to help them plan a curriculum around what children know and can do, and what they intend children to learn next.

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

Children benefit from an environment which is organised, well planned and allows children to return independently to their favourite activities. This helps children build on their knowledge and skills. Children learn to master skills in the practical 'life skill' areas of the nursery.

Staff competently support child-led play, building on what children can do and teaching them new skills. For example, staff join children as they match animals to the relevant continent on the map.Overall, staff plan well for children's learning.

Young children learn the basics of mathematics as they find the correct shape to match to the puzzle. Older children have opportunities to build on their prior learning. For example, they test their knowledge when finding the correct cylinder.

Children are extremely motivated to learn. Staff support their early reading skills well. For example, children enjoy independent reading and learning about different characters in their favourite stories.

They take part in story-time sessions with parents and grandparents at nursery. Children have opportunities during these sessions to explore and learn about other cultures as they hear stories from around the world.Staff support children's language development well.

Children develop confidence in speaking and listening, and are keen to talk to each other and visitors. They engage the inspector in conversations and confidently ask her what she is doing and excitedly tell her what they have been doing.Children are extremely independent and are confident when managing their own tasks, such as tidying up.

They are supported to develop feelings of empathy and an understanding of their emotional intelligence. They demonstrate this through acts of kindness as they support each other during tasks. Staff have extremely high expectations of children's behaviour.

Children listen well and follow clear instructions from staff. Children are extremely respectful of each other and are keen to support those who are new to the setting.The daily routine is mainly planned well and offers children a busy, stimulating and exciting day.

However, very occasionally, some parts of the day are not as well organised as others. This means that some children are unsure of what is expected of them and are less focused.The manager works well with her staff to evaluate the effectiveness of the nursery.

They talk at weekly staff meetings and reflect on their practice to identify areas for further improvement. Through regular meetings and observations of practice, staff gain the support and knowledge to develop their teaching skills.Staff work closely with parents, who comment that recent changes to the website and online journals have been positive.

Staff provide good home-learning opportunities for children and parents. They also welcome parents into the nursery to share their language, heritage and culture through stories. This positive support means that any possible gaps in children's development are closing quickly.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager ensures all staff complete regular safeguarding training and keep their knowledge updated. Staff also demonstrate a good knowledge of wider safeguarding issues, including the 'Prevent' duty legislation.

They can provide examples of issues that would cause concern about a child's welfare, including radicalisation. Staff know the procedures to follow and the professionals to contact if they need to make a referral. They are also confident in following procedures in the event an allegation is made against themselves or the manager.

Staff complete daily checks to make sure the environment is safe and to minimise any hazards. They support children to manage risks within the environment.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the organisation of transition times within the daily routine to fully promote children's learning.

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