Woodlodge Montessori School

Woodlodge Montessori School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY439145 Inspection date 23/04/2012 Inspector Caren Carpenter

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Setting address 97 Hilliard Road, NORTHWOOD, Middlesex, HA6 1SL

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Telephone number 01923 833 472 Email info@woodlodge.org.uk 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

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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

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

Woodlodge Montessori School was first registered in 2001 and was re-registered in 2011 and is run by a private provider. The setting operates from a two-storey purpose built premises in Northwood within the London Borough of Hillingdon.

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Description of the setting

Children have access to a main open plan room and two additional rooms. All children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The setting is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 50 weeks of the year.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered to care for a maximum of 39 children in the early years age range. There are currently 43 children in the early years age range on roll. Children attend for a variety of sessions each week.

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Description of the setting

The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children learning English as an additional language. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register.

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Description of the setting

The setting employs eight members of staff in including the manager. Seven staff hold early years qualifications.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The setting provides an excellent start to children's learning and play experiences. Overall children benefit well during daily outdoor daily outdoor play experiences. Excellent systems are in place to closely meet each child's individual needs. Highly effective partnerships between providers, parents and other agencies enable an excellent continuity of care and support for individual children. A comprehensive awareness of protection issues enables staff to safeguard children's welfare. The staff team demonstrate a high commitment to continuous improvement that they achieve through very effective systems for self-evaluation and ongoing training.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 developing further the outdoor play space to enhance children's learning experiences and to provide them with greater challenge. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are expertly protected from harm as staff demonstrate secure and extensive knowledge of their responsibilities with regards to child protection. Rigorous recruitment procedures are in place to ensure that all adults working with children are suitable to do so. Meticulous induction and support systems make sure new staff know the procedures to safeguard and protect children. Well- documented and thorough risk assessments of the premises effectively identify possible hazards and help to keep children safe from accidents.

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the early years provision

The management and staff work extremely well together to enable sustained improvement. All staff fully contribute to an ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of the setting. The valued suggestions and support from children, parents and the early years team further enhance this process. An effective action plan is in place to implement improvement. This open self-reflecting approach ensures children are happy and thrive in a stimulating well-planned environment. The manager is however very keen to develop the outdoor play space to enhance children's play and learning experiences even further.

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the early years provision

Children strongly benefit from a high ratio of staff to children and good continuity of care through the excellent staffing arrangements. This also allows children to move safely and freely to play in areas of their choice in the spacious rooms and outside play area. High quality resources are effectively presented on low-level shelves to enable children high levels of independence. Children understand the importance of returning every piece of equipment they use to its correct place once they have finished with it. Well-written and concise policies are available and shared with parents. Regular team meetings and non-contact time enable staff to keep extremely well informed of relevant issues and procedures. They maintain each child's achievements records to a very high standard.

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the early years provision

The staff place the promotion of equality and diversity at the heart of all their work. Staff are very successful at integrating all children and provide superb opportunities for children to be fully included. Children's understanding of diversity and difference is enhanced as they celebrate festivals from around the world. Staff work exceptionally well with wide a range of professional agencies, such as speech and language therapist and the Area Special Educational Needs team. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from a very positive and rewarding experience.

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the early years provision

The staff work and communicate exceptionally well with parents. Staff use daily contact books most effectively to share information with parents about children's routine and care needs. This provides excellent reassurance and actively involves parents in the care of their children. The staff fully consult with parents on children's development. They meet regularly with staff to discuss their children's achievements and to contribute to planning the next steps in their children's learning. The staff highly value parents' comments and seek their views on improvements to the service. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive. They speak highly of the setting. They say the setting is fantastic and that their children This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 receive excellent care that is extremely well tailored to meet their individual needs. The manager demonstrates an exemplary commitment towards working in

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the early years provision

partnerships with other providers. The manager has established superb links with local schools to enable continued progression of children's care, learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

The quality of the provision for children's welfare, learning and development is superb. Children enter the setting excited to be there and immediately become fully engaged in self-directed learning and play opportunities. Careful monitoring of individual children enables staff to tailor learning experiences to suit the needs of each child. As a result they make outstanding progress in their play and learning. Staff have an excellent understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage which is complimented by the Montessori philosophy. Staff are very successful in planning an excellent range of activities to allow children to explore, investigate, question and develop a love of learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children are making excellent progress in their communication, language and literacy development. They absolutely enjoy participating and contributing in show and tell during circle times. They proudly show and talk about their favourite items they bring in from home. The setting is involved in a project which is organised and supported by the Early Years Service. For example, staff use an excellent range of interactive objects to engage children, extend and promote their speaking and listening skills. Children enjoy excellent first-hand experiences that encourage exploration, experimentation and critical thinking. For example, they learn about the life cycle of butterflies and observe and investigate how caterpillars enclose themselves into cocoons before they change into butterflies. In addition, children have superb experiences as they visit places of interest such as, the local farm. This provides tremendous opportunities for children to observe animals in their

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and outcomes for children

natural environment and to also learn how to care for farm animals. Children have excellent access to new technology to support their learning and to help them develop skills that contribute to their future economic well-being.

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and outcomes for children

Children take part in an excellent range of activities, overall that enhance their physical development, developing their balancing skills and space awareness. They have a fantastic time during weekly ballet sessions. They thoroughly enjoy moving to the sound of music like different animals and sea creatures. For example, children thoroughly enjoy hopping like kangaroos; galloping like horses and wobbling like jelly fish. Children show their delight as they explore materials. They create swirling lines with different colours of ribbons by twirling these around. Children freely exercise choice about whether they play indoors or outside as they participate in free-flow play.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn the benefits of a healthy lifestyle exceptionally well through the provision of healthy, nutritious, freshly cooked, organic meals. They freely access fresh fruit and other healthy options from the rolling snack bar. They help This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 themselves to fresh drinking water throughout the day. The staff closely consider children's dietary needs and meet these very sensitively and well. Excellent hygiene routines promote children's independence and self-care skills such as to wash their hands at appropriate times and to use tissues. Children understand these procedures and confidently follow them.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop an excellent knowledge of keeping safe and secure as staff gently remind them of the simple rules, such as using tools safely. They competently keep the environment free from hazards by returning resources to their proper homes. Staff build up close relationships with children. They consistently praise and encourage children's achievements, acting as good role models and setting clear boundaries. As a result children are extremely well-behaved and enjoy their time spent at the setting as they learn appropriate social and independent skills. 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 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 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 1

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Stage

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

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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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