Olive Tree Montessori

Olive Tree Montessori Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY440121 Inspection date 18/05/2012 Inspector Glenda Pownall

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Setting address Manor Park Young People's Centre, Villiers Road, Slough, SL2 1NP Telephone number 07746074073 Email info@olivetreemontessori.com 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.

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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

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 Olive Tree Montessori is privately owned. It opened in 2011 and operates from Manor Park Young People's Centre in Slough, Berkshire. A maximum of 40 children in the early years age group may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open each weekday from 8.30am to 3pm term time only. Children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 61 children aged from two to the end of the early years age group on roll. The setting provides free early education to children aged three and four years. The nursery currently supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs seven staff. The manager and all staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. There are two staff working towards a qualification. The nursery follows the Montessori educational philosophy with an Islamic cultural ethos.

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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

The enthusiastic staff team provides a welcoming environment where, overall, children have their individual welfare needs well met. Strong partnership working keeps parents well informed of the good progress their children make in learning and development. Management have clear plans for further improvement of the setting and these include the outdoor environment. The breach in requirements with regard to documentation is a low risk to children's safety. An area for development includes risk assessment of the railings and children's knowledge of this.

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further?

To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 maintain a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises, and their hours of attendance (Documentation). 21/05/2012

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further?

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

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further?

 develop the risk assessment so that it covers anything with which a child may come into contact, with particular regard to the door ramp railings  develop the outdoor environment to provide physical challenge for all This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children and help children to understand how to behave outdoors by talking about personal safety and risks, with particular regard to the ramp railings.

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the early years provision

Overall, the well-qualified staff team have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities and this supports the setting in running smoothly and efficiently. The attendance register is not always maintained effectively and this means that there is not always an accurate record of when children are present. However, this breach of legal requirements is of low risk to children's safety due to the security systems in place on the premises and the management's willingness to make improvements to this immediately. Staff have a clear understanding of the procedures to follow if concerned a child is at risk and this helps to safeguard children. The written risk assessments identify potential hazards inside and outdoors and the action taken to minimise these. However, it does not include the potential risk to children of climbing on the railings leading from the premises to the outdoor play area to fully promote children's safety.

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the early years provision

Staff have good knowledge of each child's background and starting points. They use this effectively to plan to meet the individual needs of children and to help them make progress towards the early learning goals from the outset. Respect is shown for the cultural background of each child as staff plan opportunities for children to use their home languages and learn Arabic as part of the daily routine. The setting works effectively with other professionals and services and this helps to ensure that each child gets the specific help they need to develop and progress. There is a broad range of good quality resources that supports learning across all areas of development. The indoor environment is well organised with resources easily accessible to all children. Staff are generally deployed effectively to provide appropriate support to help children achieve at activities.

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the early years provision

The setting uses the Bristol Standard self-evaluation framework to reflect on practice. All staff are able to contribute their thoughts and ideas for improvement through regular staff meetings and parents write their ideas on the 'learning tree' in the foyer. The current plans for improvement accurately target outdoor play and the organisation of snack time. Staff foster positive relationships with parents. The use of a notice board, text messages, newsletters and coffee mornings keep parents fully informed about the setting and their children's progress. Parents are very complimentary about the care and education their children receive. They particularly like the different ways they are kept informed of setting events and the support they receive to help their children learn at home.

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and outcomes for children

Children enter the setting with ease and readily chat with staff and the inspector indicating that they feel secure in the setting. They share, take turns and work well This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 with their friends. For example, they work together to complete a wild animal floor puzzle and negotiate and create a storyline as they play together with a wooden garage and cars. There is a positive atmosphere in the setting where children are keen to participate and learn. They freely make choices as they select activities from the low-level units that interest them. Some show a good awareness of agreed ways to behave as they put the resources back when finished. Staff act as good role models. They are kind and caring and show respect to children, each other and visitors. Consequently children behave very well.

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and outcomes for children

Children participate in a broad range of activities and experiences that help them develop a good understanding of the diverse society in which they live. They sing songs, recite prayers and listen to some stories in Arabic which is important for their own culture. They find out about other cultures and celebrations through planned discussions. They have had visits from the fire brigade to gain awareness of people who help us and from a gym instructor when finding out about the Olympics and sports.

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and outcomes for children

Children's mathematical skills are developing well. They match sticks to the corresponding numbers and staff encourage them to add one more on which they readily do and correctly identify that they now have four. Children enjoy their learning and develop useful skills to support their future learning. Children enjoy experimenting with paint. They make marks and paint their hands. Some children attempt to write their names and form recognisable letters. They receive praise from staff and this develops self-esteem. Children say 'we can stick this in my special book' indicating ownership of their learning journals. Staff have a good knowledge of how children learn and they use this knowledge effectively to intervene appropriately to encourage and support children's learning. Overall, the observation and assessment systems successfully inform the planning to help ensure that most children are sufficiently challenged by the activities provided.

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and outcomes for children

Staff encourage children to adopt good personal hygiene. For example, children wash their hands before eating food and after visiting the toilet. Children have access to fresh drinking water throughout the session. They tuck into a variety of chopped fruit at snack. Some children are competent to pour their own drinks of milk or water promoting independent skills. The setting is reviewing snack time to help ensure that children do not have to wait too long before it is served.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy playing outside in the fresh air and for part of the session they are able to move freely between the inside and outdoor environments. Children enjoy taking turns to sit in the middle of the parachute as other children move them round. They kick footballs with their friends and some pedal and manoeuvre tricycles with skill as they steer to avoid other children. However, this area does not provide sufficient challenge for some children and they take to climbing under, over and through the hand rails along the side of the concrete ramp. Inside children demonstrate understanding of safety issues. For example, they know not to run inside 'in case we bump each other'. Staff give gentle reminders to reinforce how to behave inside. However, staff do not talk to children about the potential risks of climbing over and turning upside down on the handrails along the concrete ramp. This has the potential to impact on how safe children are.

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and outcomes for children

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 3 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 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 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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