The Montessori Pavilion

The Montessori Pavilion Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 511429 Inspection date 27/01/2012 Inspector Jenna Hamilton-Heward

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Setting address Vine Road Recreation Ground, London, SW13 0NE

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Telephone number 020 8878 9695 Email Type of setting Childcare - Non-Domestic to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

The Montessori Pavilion was established in 1984. It operates from two rooms in a local authority bowling pavilion situated in Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond, with regular access to outdoor play areas. The nursery is registered on the early years register to care for a maximum of 28 children at any one time, in the early years age range, none of which may be under two years of age. There are currently 25 children aged from two years to under five years on roll. The nursery follows the Montessori philosophy. It is open each weekday during school term times from 9am to 12.30pm, with some extended sessions until 3pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays according to demand. The nursery is funded to provide some free early education to children aged three and four years. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are learning English as an additional language. The nursery

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Description of the setting

employs 11 members of staff. Of these, six hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery receives support from the local authority's early years consultant.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

All children enjoy a broad range of interesting activities and Montessori based resources that promote their learning and development well overall, across all areas of learning. Children progress particularly rapidly in learning how to keep themselves safe. Excellent relationships with parents result in strong levels of engagement with the nursery's work. On-going evaluation enables the management and staff team to identify the strengths and most weaknesses of the service well and to make on-going improvements to meet the needs of the children effectively.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 encourage children's independence further by allowing them to take on small responsibilities, such as at meal times, through helping to prepare food and pour drinks  develop further the assessment system to enable better identification of children's future learning needs and to track children's progress  support children further in gaining skills for the future by providing information and communication technology for children to use regularly. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Robust procedures are in place to ensure that children are safeguarded within the nursery. A thorough policy, which outlines clear procedures to be followed should staff have any concerns about children in their care, is understood by staff. The manager has received updated training as part of her responsibility as the named person for child protection issues, so is aware of current safeguarding practice. Other effective practices are in place to further promote children's safety including annual risk assessment, thorough daily safety checks, use of a signing in book, and robust recruitment and vetting procedures to check that all adults working at the nursery are cleared as suitable to do so.

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the early years provision

There are excellent communications with parents and carers, which include a home visit that provides a highly effective way of supporting children's start at nursery. Parents and carers are offered an exceptional range of written information through the nursery's prospectus, newsletters and useful displays, together with termly meetings specifically about their children's progress. There are extremely strong levels of parent involvement in the nursery. Parents come in to make cakes, talk about different countries, festivals and various foods from around the world. The nursery does well to explain and illustrate to parents how they are implementing the Early Years Foundation Stage alongside the Montessori ethos that the nursery follows. Parents' views are sought through regular conversations and the use of questionnaires. Parents comment on how approachable they find the staff. The nursery makes useful links with local schools that the children will

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the early years provision

attend, to ease this transitional period.

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the early years provision

The manager and staff team undertake generally accurate self-evaluation, to identify strong practice and areas for development within the nursery, although some areas of weakness are missed. They consider the impact on the children through this evaluation which demonstrates a positive attitude to driving the nursery forward and improving outcomes for children. Staff are highly motivated through attending staff meetings.

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the early years provision

All children are valued as individuals and made to feel welcome in the nursery, whatever their backgrounds. They have access to a range of resources reflecting positive images of diversity, including pictures and posters around the room, dolls and toy figures. Staff keep their training in equality and diversity updated, providing children with a variety of themed activities that help children to learn about different cultures and religions. Staff plan an environment that allows all children to be independent in their play and make choices, whatever their abilities; for example, through the use of low level storage, so increasing children's self sufficiency. Children with additional needs are well supported. Staff show an outstanding understanding of importance of working in partnership with parents, in order to get to know children's individual requirements. They use the knowledge and skills of other professionals well, such as speech and language therapists, to

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the early years provision

help meet the needs of the children attending. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

The Montessori method of teaching complements implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage, owing to staff planning. The well-resourced environment and activities designed for self-directed play, work well as staff plan for the six areas required areas of learning. There are effective methods used to gather information on children's progress and interests, and staff use children's interests as a firm foundation for their plans. Furthermore, themes are integrated into planning which again stem from children's interests. Consequently, activities are interesting to children, so they concentrate well and also learn about the wider world. For example, children are currently enjoying a 'wheel' theme, which includes a ride on a local train. However, the system used to track children's progress is not fully effective in showing progress against the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, meaning that some areas are covered less effectively.

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and outcomes for children

Children use their creative skills happily as they make collages, exploring colour and texture with the range of materials available. Much of their work is displayed clearly around the nursery. Children use their imaginations during weekly music and movement. Children enjoy a variety of reference and fictional books and know how to handle them correctly. Children's progress in communication and literacy skills is developing well, but ICT is not available sufficiently often for children's use, to help them develop useful skills for the future as well as possible.

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and outcomes for children

All children show a strong sense of security and feel safe in the nursery as their special 'key person' knows them exceptionally well. From the home visits, parents create useful 'All about me' booklets which are shared with staff and friends. Children learn about safety exceedingly well during everyday routines, such as knowing the importance of 'tucking in chairs' after an activity. These consistent messages from staff help children to behave in ways that are exceptionally safe for themselves and others, and to deepen their safety awareness. Children know what to do in the event of an emergency, as they practise the evacuation procedure regularly.

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and outcomes for children

Children adopt healthy hygiene habits such as washing their hands before eating. The nursery has its own vegetable patch where children learn how some of their food grows. Snack and meal times are sociable occasions when children eat a range of foods; however, children all eat at the same time, which does not necessarily meet their individual care needs. Staff do not do all they might to encourage children to take on small responsibilities, as such times. They pour drinks for children, for example, rather than allowing them to do this for themselves. Children show close friendships and very good behaviour. They are polite and are often heard saying 'please' and 'thank you', and being praised by staff. Overall, the children are well prepared for their next stage in learning in this inclusive nursery. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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Early Years Foundation Stage

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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