College Town Montessori Nursery SchoolOfsted inspection, 28 Sept 2012

College Town Montessori School 117 College Road, College Town, Sandhurst, Berkshire, GU47 0RD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/09/2012 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff are highly qualified, they show strong and effective support and dedication to children's individual learning needs.  All children are progressing well in the prime and specific areas of learning and staff have effective systems for observing children's progress and planning for future learning.  Successful strategies engage parents in their children's learning in the nursery and at home.  There are very strong opportunities for children to increase their physical development and explore risk taking in a safe environment.  The nursery secures appropriate interventions with other agencies and this makes a strong contribution to meeting children's needs.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Cpportunities to develop children's understanding of healthy practices are not consistently promoted by practitioners.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are scheduled:  at least once in every inspection cycle. The current cycle ends on 31 July 2016  more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged as inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised for inspection where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed the premises and met children and staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's activities in all the indoor and outdoor areas of the nursery and tracked two children during their play outdoors and indoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the providers, staff and children and interviewed three parents at collection time.  The inspector jointly observed the role play with the provider.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed documentation and discussed aspects of the requirements with the provider.

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Information about the setting

College Town Montessori Nursery School is a privately owned provision. It opened in 1990 and re-registered in 2012 as a limited company. It operates from a residential property in the town of Sandhurst, Berkshire. Children have access to several different rooms on two floors. There is an enclosed garden with an art cabin, a role-play cabin and a covered outdoor play area. There is also a secure outdoor heated swimming pool. The nursery serves families from the local community and surrounding areas. The nursery is open for 48 weeks of the year. Children attend on a full day basis between 8am to 6pm, or for a shorter day from 9am to 4pm. Children who attend a full day are provided with breakfast and an evening meal, which is cooked on the premises. Children bring their own packed lunches. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. The nursery provides funded free early education for children aged three and four years. Staff support children

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Information about the setting

with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The nursery delivers the Early Years Foundation Stage while also reflecting the Montessori philosophy and method of teaching. French, music, dance, yoga, cooking and swimming lessons are included in the curriculum and supported by staff with related qualifications. There are 10 full-time staff who work with the children and two reserve staff. Of these, eight staff are graduates in early years and three hold Early Years Professional Status. Two staff have Montessori teaching qualifications. There are currently 58 children in the early years age group on roll.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 improve the hand washing routines before snack time for children who play in the outdoor areas, to maintain consistent learning about hygiene.

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who attend

The nursery offers a wide range of learning opportunities for children and staff strongly focus on facilitating children's individual development. Staff continuously and effectively engage with children throughout all activities. There are clear and detailed systems to show how staff are gaining knowledge of children's starting points. Staff show a very accurate understanding and awareness of their key children through record keeping and discussion. They understand children's individual learning styles and their level of capability. Staff have high expectations for all children and clearly identify where they are closing any gaps in children's learning. For example, key workers identify children with strong leadership abilities, although they know when children have less ability to develop relationships or manage their own behaviour. The key worker knows that children cannot always understand and respond to sharing. She encourages them to say 'excuse me

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who attend

please' and she praises children and confirms that she has been working on their social skills.

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who attend

All key worker staff plan for individual children's progress, share learning plans with parents and record specific learning needs. Staff show they are capable and competent in achieving opportunities for development throughout children's chosen play. For example, when playing on the computer, staff spontaneously encourage counting and children eagerly take part, counting different items they can see. The key worker knows the child's level of understanding and provides opportunities for counting further and repeating number names.

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who attend

Children successfully learn each other's names because staff use these often to encourage relationships, especially at the start of a new term. Children offer the fruit at snack time and respond to each child in turn. Children have an initial group time at the start of the day; they talk about the weather and share information from home. They are gaining confidence in speaking in front of others. Children have frequent opportunities to move between activities, purposefully select the Montessori equipment, and identify and match shapes and colours. They enjoy the tactile materials and show strong responsibility in returning items to the shelves. Children experiment with mark making as they happily draw patterns, learn letter shapes and practise the letters of their name. Children show positive listening skills and all take part in singing together before meal and snack times.

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who attend

Children relish their outdoor play provision. They show initiative and excitement when using the physical play equipment in the undercover area. Children experiment with risk taking and practise jumping from the low beams while holding onto the rope. Staff assist with clear instructions, 'Lift your hands higher and hold on tight'. Children show delight in managing to swing and staff recognise when this is the first time a child has shown confidence and ability. Children climb the slide with agility and they show balance as they walk on the covered beams. They sing to themselves at times and relate to each other during their play, thoroughly enjoying the freedom of their movements.

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who attend

The nursery clearly fosters links with parents and carers from the start. There are detailed systems to gain information about children's development and the nursery maintains very close liaison through regular meetings. All children have individual education plans and key worker's purposefully engage and agree these with parents to encourage learning at home.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The nursery has a strong and supportive family ethos and there are dedicated systems for focusing on settling children in. The provider visits families in their own home and fully gauges children's and parents' needs before they attend. This ensures the participation of parents and provides a strong knowledge base for bonding with children's individual key workers. The provider and staff show foresight and competence in recognising children's emotional responses throughout the day; they include spontaneous alternatives at times. For example, when siblings are settling, staff ensure they have ample time together for support.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children show high levels of growing independence and relationship building. They have healthy fruit for snack time and practise pouring their own milk and water; they consequently learn to mop up any spills. Staff remind children about following routines for maintaining their own personal hygiene when playing indoors and before lunch time. However, there is sometimes a lack of consistency at snack time. Children do not routinely wash or clean hands when they are in the art cabin at the end of the garden, which does not help to fully support their understanding of healthy practices.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Younger children learn effectively about wiping their own hands and faces after eating and they do this eagerly. They have an equal choice of varied activities throughout the day. They gain experience and independence in all the different areas of the nursery to promote physical development and personal, social and emotional development. Staff fully encourage children's communication skills through repetition, spontaneous singing and continual interaction. There is a dedicated focus when children become tired. Staff show competent skills of reflection and managing behaviour. They instantly know when children need to quieten; they provide stories and close comfort to settle children.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children access a good range of resources that stimulate their play and have regular planned activities; they are learning French and take part in cookery activities to make small quiches. They are happy and cooperative because they are well informed and know what to expect during the day. Children extend their physical abilities by learning to swim during the summer months in the covered pool in the garden. They engage in physical play many times during the day and relish taking small risks while being supervised attentively by staff.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Staff are very positive role models, they show understanding, support and encouragement, and often extend play with ideas and information. For example, staff instantly provide children with a magnet to encourage them to pick up all the counters from the floor. Staff offer praise and enthusiasm, they promote children's understanding and learning to ensure children have the skills they require when they transfer to school.

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provision

The provider has strong experience and a dedicated attitude towards maintaining the quality of the nursery provision. She is also dedicated to fulfilling the learning and care requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. There is a consistent focus on staff training and achieving high levels of qualification. The provider and several staff have completed degree level qualifications and Early Years Practitioner Status. This greatly benefits children's progress and supports any gaps in their achievement. The nursery has embedded procedures to check new staff and maintain their suitability. All staff have annual appraisals and supervision sessions and, through the recent evaluation, staff have requested these more often. The provider is happy to increase this opportunity for managing performance and professional development. The nursery accepts students and encourages the apprenticeship scheme; there are effective systems

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provision

The nursery has thorough policies and procedures in place and these are shared with all staff at induction and with all parents. All staff have safeguarding training and understand how to implement procedures effectively if they have any concerns. The provider, as the designated person for safeguarding, has carried out an audit to check the rigour of the nursery's procedures. There are clear systems for documentation and record keeping. The nursery has thorough risk assessment processes and manages good opportunities for children's risk taking during physical play, by including a high ratio of staff to children. There are also dedicated ratios for swimming lessons during the summer and staff are effectively trained.

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provision

The nursery has well organised links with other agencies to support children and their families. Staff show a responsible and supportive attitude in liaising regularly and planning for children's future well-being. They have established successful links with parents and families and many families continue to attend with younger siblings. Parents have full information about their children's progress and they have a clear awareness and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They see and contribute to their children's records of development and they agree with individual learning plans. Parents have contributed to the nursery's self-evaluation and this is thorough and detailed. The provider has used a wide range of examples to show how the nursery has developed and continues to promote improvement.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY444686 Local authority Bracknell Forest Inspection number 788971 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 46 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider College Town Montessori Nursery School Limited Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 07765520441

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises that are usually their own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. 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,

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Type of provision

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, 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. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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