East Lane Montessori

East Lane Montessori Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY222681 Inspection date 30/05/2012 Inspector Caren Carpenter

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Setting address 128 East Lane, Wembley, Middlesex, HA0 3NL

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Telephone number 02089086032 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

East Lane Montessori was registered in 2002 and is run by a private provider. It operates from four rooms within a community centre in the Wembley area within the London Borough of Brent. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is open each weekday from 8.30am to 3.00pm during term time.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 50 children under eight years may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 57 children in the early years age group on roll. The nursery receives funding for the provision of fee early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children learning English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs five members of staff. Four staff, including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff is currently completing a foundation degree.

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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

Children thrive in this outstanding nursery and make excellent progress in their learning and their development. Excellent systems are in place to make sure they routinely meet all children's individual needs. Outstanding partnerships between parents, other early years providers and agencies help ensure that children's needs are met and their protection is assured. Staff use robust self-evaluation to continually monitor and review all areas of the provision, so that their capacity to maintain high standards and plan for further improvement is outstanding. The manager is keen to develop the outdoor play space to enhance children's learning experiences.

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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. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Safeguarding children is paramount to the staff. The nursery has comprehensive policies and systems in place to make certain staff are fully aware of their role and responsibility for protecting children. All staff are thoroughly vetted and there are rigorous systems in place to supervise visiting students and volunteers. They very effectively use and document risk assessments of the premises to identify possible hazards and help to keep children safe.

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the early years provision

All staff contribute successfully to an ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of the nursery and this is further aided with the valued suggestions and support from children, parents and outside agencies, They meticulously identify areas for improvement and implement necessary changes. This open self-reflecting approach means children are extremely happy and thrive in a stimulating well- planned environment. Excellent improvements have been made since the last inspection. The manager is highly committed and is keen to develop the outdoor play space to enhance children's learning experiences.

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the early years provision

There is an excellent and supportive management structure in place. This results in very effective teamwork. All policies and procedures are clearly written and are an effective aid to staff in their daily practice to support children's welfare. The premises is very well organised in order to meet the needs of all the children and make sure it is safe, secure and welcoming. Staff use high-quality Montessori resources to enable children to make outstanding progress in their learning and development.

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the early years provision

Equality and diversity is expertly promoted and threaded throughout every aspect of the nursery. All children are treated with equal concern and provided with superb opportunities to be fully included in all aspects of the setting. Staff know each child extremely well and have excellent systems in place so that each child is fully able to take part. For example, they share knowledge about the children to comprehensively support children with English as an additional language or who have individual education plans. Staff work exceptionally well with the Area Special Educational Needs team to develop and monitor individual educational plans. This means children with additional needs benefit from a very positive and rewarding experience.

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the early years provision

Partnership with parents is outstanding. Parents are encouraged to share what they know about their child when they first start at the nursery. This information helps staff to have an excellent knowledge of each child's background, interests and needs. Parents are exceptionally well consulted on their children's development. They have excellent opportunities to attend coffee mornings, social events and various workshops such as, language and behaviour management. Staff actively encourages parental involvement in the nursery; for example they come into the nursery to share their own skills with the children. The nursery values parents' comments and seeks their views on what they are doing well and what they could do better. This is a very effective way of developing and maintaining excellent communication between staff and parents. Parents are This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

extremely supportive. They say the nursery is great; staff are approachable, friendly, caring and highly supportive. The manager has established fantastic links with local children's centres and uses this to meet new parents and to share relevant information. Staff complete detailed transition files for children that are leaving to attend school; this means that the teachers are aware of the stages of development the children have reached when they start at school.

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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 nursery excited to be there and immediately become fully engaged in self-directed learning and play opportunities. Children move with absolute confidence around the nursery, making excellent use of both indoor and outdoor. Staff are very confident in observing their play, assessing their progress towards the early learning goals and planning the next steps in their learning. They make very accurate observations and assessments of children's achievements, so that activities are very well matched to individual needs. Staff provide high-quality support quickly and effectively, so that children make outstanding progress in all aspects of their learning and development. Children are happy, confident and extremely motivated to learn. They demonstrate increasing independence as they develop their practical life skills and persistently make choices about their play,

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and outcomes for children

helping themselves to resources and activities. This successfully helps children to develop skills that contribute to their future economic well-being.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop excellent communication skills. Staff spend a significant amount of their time playing with them, talking to them and extending their learning. Consequently children talk confidently to each other and to adults caring for them. Their conversations are knowledgeable and they skilfully share their experiences during circle times. Children have excellent opportunities for making marks; many children can recognise and confidently write their own names. During outdoor play children take pride using chalk to form recognisable letters and numbers on the fixed writing boards in the garden. Staff successfully support children to develop their skills in linking sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of the alphabet. Children are beginning to use their phonic knowledge to write simple and regular words such as hat, cat, pan and ran. They have excellent access to a wide range of quality books which they choose independently for pleasure in the cosy

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and outcomes for children

book area. They eagerly choose their favourite storybooks and show great enthusiasm and interest identifying pictures and recalling the stories. Children have very good opportunities to develop and extend their early mathematical knowledge. They use lots of practical activities for counting, size, shape and numbers as well as for matching and sorting. Many children can count to ten and beyond and use mathematical language such as big, small, tall and short as they measure various items around the nursery.

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and outcomes for children

Children's confidently express their own creative ideas, use a variety of art equipment and take part in role play which is highly imaginative and rich in learning opportunities. Children delight in playing the drums on the outdoor stage; This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 they explore how sounds can change and match movements to music. Children have excellent opportunities to learn about how plants grow and how to care for them. For example, they plant tomato, runner beans, flowers and a variety of herb plants.

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and outcomes for children

Children are exceptionally well encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles. Staff teach them to be active and to understand the benefits of fresh air and physical activity. They confidently use a selection of outdoor play equipment where they practise their large muscle physical skills. Children learn excellent personal hygiene routines and instinctively wash their hands after using the toilet and before helping to prepare a selection of fresh fruits for their snacks. Visits from a dentist, an optician and a dietician provide excellent opportunities for children to understand the importance of looking after their bodies. Parents provide their children's packed lunches and children recognise when they are thirsty, helping themselves to fresh drinking water throughout the day. Children have excellent awareness of their own safety as they move around the nursery with care. They manage the transition between indoors and outdoor with ease and take part in regular fire drills. Staff

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and outcomes for children

use role play activities exceptionally well to help children understand how to keep themselves safe. In addition children have excellent first-hand experiences to learn how to cross the road safely when out and about in the local community.

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and outcomes for children

Children are very confident and sociable. Staff have high expectations of behaviour and children behave extremely well. They show consideration for equipment and each other, as they return equipment back to the shelves, share and take turns. Children demonstrate developing self-control when negotiating with each other to resolve problems, with little or no input from staff. Children's work is valued and displayed attractively. 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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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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