Bright Little Buttons Montessori

Bright Little Buttons Montessori Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY439159 Inspection date 15/05/2012 Inspector Lisa Toole

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Setting address The Parish Rooms, Broadwater Street West, WORTHING, West Sussex, BN14 9DE Telephone number 01903 209 399 or 07908 729 767 (mobile) Email brightlittlebuttons@hotmail.co.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.

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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

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

Bright Little Buttons Montessori opened in 2012. It operates from the Parish Rooms in Broadwater, Worthing, West Sussex. Children use one playroom and have access to an enclosed outdoor area.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 20 children aged from two to under eight years may attend the setting at any one time. The setting is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8.30am to 3.30pm; Wednesday from 8.30am to 12.00noon and Friday from 8.30am to 1pm, for 42 weeks of the year, including half-term holidays.

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Description of the setting

There are currently nine children on roll. The setting gets funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years The setting currently supports children learning English as an additional language. The setting employs two members of staff; both of these hold appropriate early years qualifications. The setting also has six volunteer members of staff. The setting follows Montessori teaching methods.

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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

Children enjoy high levels of care and learning within the nursery. Consequently they are making good progress towards most of the early learning goals of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. They explore the rich and varied safe environment with confidence and play harmoniously. Staff work closely with parents to support children's individual needs and some good information sharing takes place. The nursery team demonstrates a strong capacity and commitment towards ongoing evaluation of the provision and its continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve methods for gathering relevant information from parents to establish children's starting points  extend opportunities for children to develop their physical skills and gain control of their whole bodies, through activities such as climbing and balancing. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Strong safeguarding arrangements within the nursery contribute to the children being safe as staff help to protect their welfare at all times. The nursery is strongly led and managed, supported by confident and skilled staff. They fully understand their key roles and responsibilities, including child protection, learning and development and equality and diversity. Robust recruitment and vetting procedures are in place to make sure only suitable adults work with the children. All mandatory documentation to support the staff's safe management of the nursery and care of children is in place and is well maintained. It covers all aspects of the nursery's practices, to help ensure children keep safe and are cared for in line with their specific needs and the parents' wishes each day.

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the early years provision

Staff work well together as a team. They are enthusiastic and offer the children a rich, purposeful learning environment, both indoors and outdoors. Children benefit from having independent access to a good range of resources, which include Montessori teaching equipment, to support their play across all six areas of learning. The staff's effective deployment means that children eagerly and independently explore the space around them, moving around and playing freely. For example children delight in encouraging staff to copy them and move like they do, whether balancing in a yoga-like pose or spinning around the floor on their bottoms. Staff are consistently on hand to guide and extend children's play and learning so they are challenged and become active learners.

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the early years provision

The nursery is not yet working in partnership with other settings or external agencies because none of the children attend another group or have had the need for additional support. Nevertheless, the nursery has clearly detailed procedures in place for staff to be able to develop partnerships in the future, if the need arises. The staff positively promote equality and diversity, both in their partnerships with parents, their care of the children, and through the resources and activities available. This helps everyone feel included, valued and respected within the nursery.

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the early years provision

The staff's engagement with parents is good. Staff spend valuable time getting to know each child and their family before children start at nursery. They find out about their cultural heritage, languages they speak and who is regularly involved in the children's lives. They gain some information about children's interests and abilities. They appropriately and positively tailor settling visits to the needs of the child and family. This means that children are able to feel safe and secure, with their needs fully understood and supported. Staff routinely share information about children's ongoing progress and events taking place at the nursery. Newsletters, the website and formal meetings enable parents to keep well informed about their child's welfare and progress towards the early learning goals.

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the early years provision

The nursery demonstrates a keen ambition to provide good quality provision for the children in all aspects. The staff reflect on their practice and seek the views of parents to help drive improvement. Feedback from parents through questionnaires and discussion indicate they are very happy with the care provided for their This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children and are seeing progress in all aspects of their children's development. Staff recognise the value of the quality assurance and self-evaluation tools they have started to use to further identify key priorities for their continuous improvement in order to enhance the outcomes for children.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from the harmonious, calm and purposeful learning environment. The nursery is child-friendly, comfortable and staff encourage children to gain a strong sense of belonging. They learn to take care of their personal belongings, hanging up their coats and bags and self-registering on arrival. Displays of their creative work enhance the physical appearance of the room and show children their efforts are valued. Every child is actively involved in deciding what they do and play with. This encourages the children to be confident and active learners, and this is reflected in how settled and happy they appear. Their learning and development is supported by staff who have a good understanding of how to question, challenge and stimulate the children's thought processes, in order for them to develop key skills for the future. They are very mindful of the ages of the children currently attending and adapt activities effectively so they are learning

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and outcomes for children

new skills at a good pace. For example imaginative role play pretending to be sharks and turtles leads to the children looking at different toy animals, learning their names and finding out at a basic level about where they live in the world. Exploration of the garden results in children using magnifying glasses to investigate a small snail they find. They enjoy looking at the pattern on its shell and observing how it moves, while one child contentedly takes photographs of them using the children's camera. This means they learn about technology through first-hand practical experiences. Staff gently remind children to be careful with living things and treat them with respect when looking at the snail. Visitors to the nursery and outings around the community provide children with stimulating real- life experiences which extend their learning well. These include a vet who brings birds in for the children to stroke, talk about their different colours and learn how

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and outcomes for children

to keep safe by not poking their fingers through the bars of the cage. Staff monitor the children's progress through regular observation and assessment, enabling them to find out about their developmental needs and current interests. At present staff use an all about me form and discussion with parents to find out about the individual child. This does not always provide them with a really clear record of each child's starting capabilities, and therefore has a small impact on how they are able to initially plan for each child's next steps.

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and outcomes for children

Children behave well in the nursery, respond positively to requests by staff and learn about right and wrong through consistent messages. Staff are attentive, caring and effectively support children's emotional well-being to help them feel safe. The children become independent regarding their health and personal care, washing hands, deciding when to have a snack and drink and helping to clear away afterwards. They enjoy nutritious snacks of rice cakes, bread sticks and fruit to support their good health and are able to access fresh drinking water at any time. All of the children are energetic and enjoy outdoor play, whether it is digging This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 in the corner, painting with water on the chalkboard or playing throwing and catching games. The outdoor area is well organised and thoroughly enjoyed by the children. There is, however, less opportunity for children to gain control over all

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and outcomes for children

aspects of their physical development; for example, to climb, balance and take manageable risks so they learn how to control their large muscles. Children show they understand how to use tools such as scissors with care and take part in evacuation drills to learn about fire safety. 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 3 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 2 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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