Merry Gold Montessori School

Merry Gold AMI Montessori Murray Park Hall, Kneller Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW2 7DX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/12/2012 01/11/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 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 have strong bonds with children that support their security and well-being.  Staff provide a well-organised and well-resourced environment that help children to learn effectively.  Staff use good teaching techniques which support children to progress well.  Children develop strongly in their personal, social and emotional development because staff provide a good focus on this area of learning. This means that they have good readiness for school.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The outdoor learning environment is not used to its maximum potential to support children's learning in mathematics.

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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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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation with the provider.  The inspector observed the indoor and outdoor environments.  The inspector spoke to parents and considered their views during the inspection.  The inspector held a meeting with the provider.  The inspector checked planning and assessment records.

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Information about the setting

Merry Gold Montessori is a privately owned nursery, which opened in 1990. It operates from Murray Park Hall, located within Murray Park, in Whitton in the Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames. The premises include a main hall, one adjoining small room, toilets, kitchen and a large indoor storage area used for creative activities. All children share access to a small outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 35 children aged from two to five years on roll. The nursery is open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8.45am to 12.30pm. Some children stay until 1pm on Monday and Thursday to have lunch. The nursery operates for 38 weeks of the year, term time only. It provides funded early education places for children aged three and four years. It follows a Montessori philosophy and links children's learning with the outcomes

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Information about the setting

and principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery serves the local and wider community. It supports children who are learning English as an additional language. There are six members of staff and of these; five hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery works in partnership with the local authority early years team.

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

 strengthen the outdoor learning environment, by providing number labels for children to use, for example, by creating numbered parking bays for wheeled toys to support children's number recognition.

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who attend

Children make good progress in relation to their starting points. This is because staff provide a good range of challenging and interesting experiences that cover all areas of learning. Children initiate their own play within a stimulating and well-resourced environment. There is a good blend of traditional Montessori equipment and open-ended imaginative play resources allowing children freedom and choice.

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who attend

Staff promote children's personal, social and emotional development well. They provide many activities and resources that enable children to develop good concentration skills in readiness for their future learning. For example, children carefully and creatively arrange small shapes in a paper collage, or pour water into a container to a precise filling mark. Children listen attentively to staff as they learn instructions for their Christmas performance. They line up sensibly holding high their flags from around the world so that the audience can see them. They take it in turns to travel through a play tunnel and move in different ways along a line. They gather safely in a circle to confidently sing seasonal songs. Staff support the younger children in their efforts, which helps them to feel secure as they join in.

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who attend

Children develop good hand eye coordination through various activities, such as emptying and filling containers using natural resources and small utensils. They learn to use technology as they listen to music from around the world on compact disc players. The outdoor area has a good range of large and small equipment that presents physical challenge to children. In good weather, staff take many indoor activities outside to extend children's learning. In Spring, children plant and grow vegetables and this supports their understanding of plant growth. However, staff do not fully realise the potential of the outdoor area to support children's mathematical development. For example, children have fewer opportunities to use and recognise numbers in this environment.

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who attend

Children enjoy developing their early reading skills because staff provide a wide range of different books to capture their interest. They learn about how letters are formed by handling textured letter templates. Staff extend their learning further by talking to the children about the corresponding sounds of the letters. Children recognise their names as they self-register and older children write their own names on their work. Children enjoy using language to create their own imaginary stories as they dress up as various characters in role play. Children's communication skills are supported further because staff give children time to think and respond to questions. Children who learn English as an additional language make good progress because staff find out key words in a child's home language and model sentences to support learning. Children have access to lots of writing materials in a dedicated 'graphics room' and in role play areas. This means that

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who attend

children can practise their drawing and writing skills in many ways.

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who attend

Staff enrich children's learning through community involvement. For example, children befriend elderly residents as they visit a local care home. Staff plan individually for children based on their needs and keep detailed records of children's progress. They promote the next steps for learning from regular observations, which link into plans effectively. Staff have begun to write progress check summaries for children aged between two and three years of age covering all required elements. Staff keep parents informed of their child's progress by sending out reports and newsletters and by offering parents invitations to open days to discuss their child's progress. Parents say they value the daily interaction between themselves and staff, because they can exchange observations of their child and contribute to their child's learning.

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

Children are secure and content because they have warm bonds with staff. Staff have strong relationships with parents that support children's well-being and sense of belonging. Children select resources independently from low-level accessible storage units in a bright, well-organised and well-resourced environment.

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

Staff teach children self-care skills, such as washing their hands at appropriate times. Children take care of their environment by tidying away after play. They take responsibility by helping to prepare and serve healthy snacks for each other. Throughout the morning, children pour themselves fresh drinking water into beakers independently. Staff cater for special dietary needs. Nappy changing takes place hygienically and in privacy. Children use the outdoor area, which backs onto a park, for fresh air and physical exercise each day. Staff allow children to choose outdoor equipment to balance, ride, climb and jump. Children learn to behave in safe ways, for example, as they negotiate space effectively while running or riding bikes so that they do not collide into other children.

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

Staff support children who are about to start school because they meet up with teachers to share information and to support continuity of learning. Local schools invite pre-school children to assemblies so that they can get used to the school environment and become familiar with staff. This helps children to settle more readily. Staff teach children to resolve minor difficulties for themselves. For instance, children offer to share, wait or negotiate with other children if there is an issue over a resource. However, staff support younger children as appropriate. Children conduct themselves well and show consideration for each other. Staff use praise effectively to promote children's good behaviour. They offer children time to think if they behave in ways that are not acceptable and support children to make positive choices.

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

Children learn about different cultures and the meaning of special events. For example, a Chinese parent visits the setting to talk to the children about why the lotus flower floats in water during Chinese New Year celebrations. Children make their own paper flowers to the festival. They learn about difference by listening to music from around the world and by using a wide range of multicultural resources.

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provision

Staff promote children's safety as a high priority. All staff have been trained in safeguarding children and have good knowledge of safety issues and procedures to follow. The manager provides good support to staff in this area. She is the safeguarding lead and has weekly meetings with staff to provide mentoring and support around safeguarding practice. The provider ensures that staff are always supervised and no member of staff is in a room or isolated area on their own at any time while working with children. Staff use thorough risk assessments each day for all aspects of the provision and the assessments are reviewed periodically. Staff go through appropriate vetting procedures to assess their suitability for their roles and have a comprehensive job induction. This helps to protect children from harm.

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provision

Management review all plans for children and all assessment folders so that they can monitor the quality of the educational provision. They also review assessment folders during staff meetings so that they can be aware of any groups of children who are underachieving. This enables them to put appropriate plans in place to close any gaps in children's achievement. The manager supervises staff regularly to provide support, coaching and to be aware of any issues related to underperformance. Staff training needs are identified through appraisals each school term. Several staff have attended a range of courses, including safeguarding. This has led to improved knowledge of correct procedures to follow should a concern arise.

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provision

The setting has good links with other professionals involved in the care and learning of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The local authority area special educational needs coordinator visits the setting to offer advice and information on care and learning needs. Staff promote effective partnerships with parents who are kept informed of their child's progress.

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provision

Management looks carefully at the provision to identify any strengths and weaknesses, make improvement plans and set relevant targets. These have included planning training on the revised Early Years Foundation Stage framework for all staff so that they offer children the best learning opportunities. The setting has met the recommendations from the previous inspection. For instance, staff now keep parents better informed of their child's progress and parents also have opportunities to be involved in their child's learning. Parents spoken to at the time of the inspection indicated good levels of satisfaction with the setting. The setting has good capacity to improve future outcomes for children.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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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 402938 Local authority Richmond upon Thames Inspection number 895072 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 35 Number of children on roll 35 Name of provider Malsri Amarasuriya Date of previous inspection 01/11/2011 Telephone number 020 8898 0962 Mobile 07729242112

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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

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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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