The Montessori People Ltd

The Montessori People @ Highflyers Children's Centre Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY440939 Inspection date 12/07/2012 Inspector Vivienne Dempsey

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Setting address Highflyers Childrens Centre, Tedder Avenue, Thornaby, STOCKTON-ON-TEES, Cleveland, TS17 9JP Telephone number 01642308611 Email michelle.tudor@themontessoripeople.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

The Montessori People @ Highflyers Children's Centre was registered in 2011. It operates from Highflyers Children Centre in Thornaby. The nursery is owned and managed by The Montessori People Limited. The nursery serves the local area. It is accessible to all and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Description of the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday during school all year round from 7am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register to care for a maximum of 80 children at any one time, all of whom may be in the early years age range. There are currently 107 children attending who are within this age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two, three- and four-year-olds. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 34 members of childcare staff. Of these, most hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 or above. Five members of staff have degrees in early years. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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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 nursery provides a warm and welcoming environment, where children's welfare is effectively supported and promoted. Children thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery and make good progress in learning and development. A mainly stimulating and interesting environment is provided and children, overall, are well behaved. Staff recognise the uniqueness of each child and there are warm interactions between staff and children. A positive approach to inclusion ensures children's individual needs are identified and taken account of. Robust and effective systems are in place to drive continuous improvement and staff, parents and children are fully involved in the self-evaluation process.

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further?

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

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further?

 enhance equipment in some role play areas to fully promote opportunities for all children to fully share their thoughts, ideas and feelings  make sure behaviour management procedures are consistently applied by all staff to make sure all children are fully aware of behavioural expectations in the nursery. 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 effectively safeguarded by staff who have been through appropriate recruitment and induction procedures. The strong management team have ensured that records required for the efficient implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage are in place and clear written policies and procedures effectively ensure children's safety and welfare. Written risk assessments and daily checks are in place to manage or eliminate risks, which enhances children's safety at all times. All staff have attended safeguarding children training and are fully aware of signs and symptoms of abuse. There are clear procedures in place for liaising with appropriate agencies, if they have concerns for a child's well-being.

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the early years provision

The committed, well qualified staff mostly promote good quality childcare and have a very clear vision of what they wish to achieve. The nursery's self-evaluation is ongoing and reflects staff's, children's and parents' thoughts. It records their strengths and areas for development. Parents complete regular questionnaires and staff have developed a 'You Said, We did' board displaying how they have responded to parents suggestions. This keeps parents informed at all times and shows how staff are using parents' comments to promote outcomes for all children.

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the early years provision

The nursery is mostly well organised and thoughtfully laid out, to reflect children's interests. A wide range of mainly good quality and developmentally appropriate resources, enable children from an early age to make choices. The outdoor area is very well equipped and provides a very interesting environment for children to explore freely. However, equipment in some role play areas is limited and does not fully promote opportunities for all children to fully share their thoughts, ideas and feelings. Parents and carers are made to feel valued and they are encouraged to become involved in their children's learning, which has a positive impact on their welfare and development. There is a frequent two-way flow of information between parents and staff, with regard to children's learning, development and welfare. Observations and assessments are shared with parents at regular parents' evenings and parents are actively encouraged to share significant events at home.

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the early years provision

Information is sought prior to children attending, regarding their starting points and routines. Parents and carers are provided with good quality information regarding policies and procedures and frequent newsletters keep them up-to-date with events at the nursery. They speak very highly of the nursery and state that the 'very good staff are really nice and good with the children.' Parents also comment on how their children enjoy attending the nursery and 'my child has made lots of progress in their development.'

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the early years provision

The manager and her staff team ensure that they constantly promote equality of opportunity. They have good systems in place to ensure that all children are well integrated and that steps are taken to close any identified gaps in their achievements. Staff have an in-depth knowledge of each child's background and needs and good systems are in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Strong links have been developed with a wide range of This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 agencies and other providers to ensure every child receives good levels of support at an early stage.

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and outcomes for children

Staff have good relationships with children in their care. They provide a well maintained and nurturing environment for children in which they feel safe and secure to learn. They provide a mostly good range of resources and a varied range of experiences to meet the children's individual needs and interests. Staff have developed good systems for observation, assessment and planning. Observations of children's learning and development are recorded within their learning journals. Next steps in children's development are highlighted and these are used to plan activities to promote their learning and development. Observations are linked to the six areas of learning and tracking sheets, monthly progress reports and termly assessments show children's progress towards the early learning goals.

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and outcomes for children

Warm and caring relationships with the staff help children to feel safe and secure in their surroundings. They learn about possible dangers and how to keep themselves safe through routines, such as fire evacuation procedures. Good hygiene practices across the provision help to minimise the risk of spreading infection. Children learn the importance of good personal hygiene habits, such as washing their hands before meals and snacks. They confidently talk about the importance of hand washing and state they 'need to get the germs off and keep them clean.' Fresh drinking water is freely available during the session and healthy snacks are also provided. This helps promote children's understanding of healthy foods, whilst helping to keep them hydrated and nourished. Very good systems are in place to help promote children's independence at meal and snack times. For example, children help set the table and serve their own meals and drinks. They

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and outcomes for children

are also encouraged to scrape, wash and rinse their own plates and confidently talk about dinner time routines. This promotes children self-help skills and confidence very well. Children are mostly well behaved, this is encouraged by the staff who are generally positive role models and create a calm and positive environment by listening to and praising children. However, some older children do not always follow instructions quickly and behaviour management procedures are not consistently applied by all staff. This does not ensure all children are fully aware of behavioural expectations in the nursery.

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and outcomes for children

Children have great fun outdoors, they enjoy riding self-propelled bikes, splashing in puddles and exploring the willow dens and walk ways. Younger children enjoy making marks with large chalks and paint, which helps to develop their early writing skills. All children, apart from babies, take part in the morning 'wake and shake', which, encourages children to join in with action rhymes and songs to ensure their bodies are ready to 'play and learn.' Children enjoy exploring water, sand and flour. They confidently use watering cans and have great fun watching the water flow out of the pipes and tubes. Pre-school children confidently choose the freely accessible activities. They skilfully pour water from small jugs into jars and expertly use small cloths to mop up any spilt water wring the cloths so the water goes back into the jug. They concentrate intensely as they use tweezers to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

transfer dried peas between bowls, demonstrating their ability to use tools confidently. Children have a good range of opportunities to develop their counting skills and assuredly use coins to match numbers up to twenty. Babies and toddlers enjoy exploring a range of natural resources, providing them with opportunities to feel a range of different textures. 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 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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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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