Snowdrop House Montessori Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive at the setting eager and ready to learn. They quickly join in with one of the exciting activities available, such as perfume making.

Children use flowers, water and decorative jars to mix and create their own scents. They are visibly proud of their creations and ask adults to smell their perfume. Children's behaviour is good.

They understand what is expected of them and follow the routine well. Children make good progress in all areas of learning and benefit from the ambitiously planned curriculum. Children enjoy taking on additional responsibilities, such as serving lunch to their friends.

Thi...s helps them to develop their independence and prepares them well for the next stage in their education. Children form secure attachments to their key person, which helps them to feel safe. They cuddle up to familiar adults when they need additional reassurance.

Babies explore and learn using all of their senses. They squeeze cooked pasta between their hands and empty and fill different-sized containers. Children develop an understanding of what makes them unique.

For example, when looking in the mirror, babies point to themselves and say their name.

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

Children enjoy accessing the resources and experiences provided for them. For example, they use sandpaper letter tiles to trace over the letters and copy the shape in the sand.

This helps them to begin to recognise letters and supports early mark making. Children's communication and language are well supported through the use of stories, songs and rhymes.Leaders have a clear vision for the setting and strive for continuous improvements.

They are highly reflective and successfully monitor and evaluate the provision. Leaders provide ongoing supervision and professional development to staff to further enhance their practice. For example, they share training with staff on brain development in the early years.

Overall, staff support children's learning and development well through a broad and varied curriculum. They interact with children and ask questions to broaden their knowledge. However, on occasion, planned group activities do not focus clearly on what children need to learn next or provide them with appropriate challenge.

Partnerships with parents are a key strength. Staff ensure that parents are included in their children's learning. Parents describe the staff as 'brilliant' and say that the setting is 'a wonderful place that supports children to be the best they can be in every sense.'

Leaders have established effective systems to monitor children's progress and prioritise early identification of any gaps in learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are very well supported by the experienced staff. They use picture communication cards and Makaton signing effectively to help children communicate.

Staff help to build children's confidence and self esteem. They regularly praise children for their achievements and support them to manage their emotions and behaviour well. Children are keen to learn and show high levels of motivation.

However, at times, such as after tea, activities are not purposefully planned. This leads to the environment not being as enriching as at other times in the day.Children learn how to keep themselves healthy.

They practise brushing their teeth and pretend to brush away the drawn-on 'plaque' on upturned plastic bottles. During mealtimes, staff explain to children why drinking water is good for them and the importance of being hydrated.Staff support children's physical development well.

They provide opportunities for children to develop their gross motor skills inside and outside. For example, children experiment with different ways of moving as they pretend to be different animals and travel across the hall. In the garden, children balance across the stepping stones and ride trikes.

Staff enjoy their roles and feel well supported by the leadership team. They observe each other during activities and work together to identify areas for improvement in their practice. This creates a positive environment for both staff and children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders ensure that there are robust safeguarding procedures in place to help keep children safe. They keep staff's knowledge refreshed through regular quizzes and ongoing training.

Staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children. They are confident about the process to follow to raise a concern about a child or staff member. They know the signs that may indicate a child is at risk of harm.

Leaders complete rigorous checks on new employees to ensure they are suitable to work with children. The environment is well maintained and there is a good focus on hygiene and cleanliness.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review and amend the organisation after teatime at the end of the day, to ensure that children are consistently engaged in purposeful learning opportunities nimprove the implementation of group activities to provide appropriate challenge and focus more precisely on the learning intentions.

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