Jelly Beans Montessori Nursery

Jelly Beans Montessori Nursery Catholic Church of St. Pius X, Southend Road, HOCKLEY, Essex, SS5 4QH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/01/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Staff demonstrate an exemplary knowledge and understanding of how the Montessori approach supports the learning and development requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Consequently, children make significant gains in their learning.  Children are exceedingly curious, motivated to learn and show a strong sense of independence and exploration in their play.  Staff have an excellent understanding of the needs of the children and use a meticulous approach to monitor and support children's progress, which is successfully linked into weekly planning.  Parents are highly engaged and involved in their children's learning both in the nursery and at home. They contribute towards the initial assessments of children's abilities on entry and are kept extremely well informed of their children's progress through the learning journals. As a result, children benefit from the continuity of care and they feel

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This provision is outstanding

happy and secure.  Children are exceptionally well protected because of the staff's expert knowledge and implementation of safeguarding procedures.  There are extremely strong arrangements to support children's transitions onto the next stages in their learning.

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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 observed activities in the indoor and outdoor learning environments; this included a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held discussions with the manager, staff and children.  The inspector viewed a sample of the children's learning journals.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector saw evidence of suitability and qualifications of the staff, policies and procedures and other documentation in relation to health and safety checks.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and within the self-evaluation form.

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Information about the setting

Jelly Beans Montessori Nursery Limited was originally registered in 2008 and moved into the current premises in 2012. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from two rooms in a church building in Hockley, Essex. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs six members of childcare staff. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications and the manager holds Early Years Professional Status.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday during school term times. Sessions are from 7.30am until 3.45pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 51 children attending who are within the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a small number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

The staff support children's learning by following the Montessori philosophy and principles alongside traditional teaching methods.

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

 strengthen further children's understanding and speaking skills by setting up more displays that remind them of what they have experienced, using objects, artefacts, photographs and books.

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who attend

The staff really understand how young children learn and demonstrate an excellent knowledge of the learning and development requirements. Children benefit because the staff demonstrate great enthusiasm, which gives them an excitement for learning. High expectations are a key feature of the teaching and children rise exceptionally well to the challenges presented to them. Interaction is excellent and staff instinctively pose questions pitched to the right level to stimulate thinking and prompt intelligent answers from the children. For example, while using large construction materials, children carefully consider the cause and effect of moving blocks when building a wall. Staff ask 'what might happen if we balance this here?' and children promptly explain that this would make it 'too steep' and quickly find a better solution.

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who attend

Children have access to innovative, exciting and developmentally appropriate learning experiences, which challenge them to use what they know and to learn more. The calm nursery atmosphere inspires children to be industrious. They revel in their tasks and give them their wholehearted attention. Children flourish as planning embraces the seven areas of learning, while also supporting the individual child. Activities are planned week to week to meet the needs of individual children, based on their abilities and interests. For example, children are frequently consulted about the activities they wish to see on offer and many conversations are held where groups of children contribute their ideas and share their own experiences. Every experience is seen by staff as an opportunity for children to learn and gain skills for the next stages in their learning.

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who attend

The planning, observation and assessment arrangements are precise and purposeful. Key persons complete an accurate baseline assessment, supported by initial assessments of the children's first five sessions. They then continue to closely observe each child's play and use both spontaneous and planned observations of achievements to carefully plan for their next steps in learning. The staff collate the necessary information from their observations to complete the additional progress checks that are required when the children reach the age of two. A focused learning development assessment is completed for all children each term and this precisely identifies if there are any gaps in learning or whether children or groups of children need additional support. Children with English as an additional language are superbly supported to ensure they thrive and rapidly develop their listening, understanding and speaking skills. Close links with outside specialists ensure that

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who attend

any child identified with special educational needs quickly receives the additional support they need.

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who attend

Children are exceptionally well prepared for school. Practical activities are presented enticingly on small trays that children can easily reach for themselves. Excellent use of Montessori materials means that children show great perseverance and concentrate well when developing practical, real life and mathematical skills. They confidently explore length, breadth and volume of materials. They reliably count, adeptly recognise numerals and place them in the correct order. Children develop excellent hand-to-eye coordination as they move beans from one container to another with a spoon and develop a strong grip to begin writing. Children are extremely well supported in their letter formation, recognise the letters of the alphabet and can say the sound they make. They reinforce their knowledge through feeling textured letters and numbers.

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who attend

The staff place a high emphasis on developing children's communication and language skills. The staff constantly review and reorganise the layout of the rooms to provide spaces, which encourage children to communicate with each other. More resources have been provided outdoors to spark interesting conversations, which has proved highly successful in engaging the boys who were initially more reluctant to contribute their ideas. Children share the good quality books with staff on a one-to-one basis and fully participate as they express their ideas in group story time using actions to retell stories. They are particularly animated and eager to learn and understand new words. Children draw with quiet enthusiasm and they describe their pictures imaginatively to staff and visitors. There are opportunities for children to display their work and examine photographs in their learning journal. Further consideration to providing a wider range of displays that remind

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who attend

children of what they have experienced, for example, by using more objects, artefacts, photographs and books, has the potential to extend and enhance children's understanding and speaking skills even more. Children have many opportunities to learn about the local and global community by taking part in cultural activities, charity events or outings. There are also positive images displayed to reflect the diverse society in which we all live. Trips are made to the nearby library and children have excellent opportunities to extend their knowledge of the natural world when they visit the local woods or farm.

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who attend

Highly effective strategies engage parents in their children's learning. On entry, staff link closely with parents to obtain detailed information about their children's individual abilities. Parents are also fully involved in the baseline assessments and progress check for children at age two. They contribute comments in their children's learning journals and note children's individual achievements on the 'Wow board'. Parents regularly meet with key persons for consultations about their children's progress. Workshops are held that explain the Early Years Foundation Stage and the Montessori approach. Parents also spend time in the nursery acting as volunteers or join the children to share food and activities from a variety of different cultures.

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

The highly effective settling-in procedures ensure children experience a smooth transition from home and help them to feel secure and self-assured. The nursery operates a successful baby and toddler group, so children get to know the staff and the play environment before they start attending. Staff are caring and sensitive, attentive to all children's individual needs. Warm bonds are formed and there are many cheerful greetings when children arrive in the morning. The staff are highly responsive to the children's body language and give the all-important cuddle when the youngest children show signs of feeling uncertain. Staff exchange detailed information about children's development to aid transitions as children move up to the next room. This supports the key person to prepare for the next stage in learning. Staff turnover is minimal, which ensures a very high degree of continuity of care and education for the children.

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

Staff are extremely respectful of the children and treat them with warmth and kindness with clear boundaries identifying what is and what is not appropriate behaviour. As a result, children are very polite, behave exceedingly well and show consideration for their peers and staff. They also learn to take great care of the resources they use. Children know to return play items to the shelves after use and they eagerly help staff to sweep up.

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

Children show great maturity and are given roles and responsibilities that skilfully promote their awareness of personal safety. For example, they are involved in the risk assessment of the outdoor area and children know that they have to dry the seats on outdoor toys and avoid areas that may be slippery. Children are clearly developing a love of the outdoors and recognise the benefits of fresh air and exercise. They learn to manoeuvre themselves on the different levels outside. They show increasing control and coordination as they clamber in the low trees and work out how to swing from the higher branches using a hoop. This increases their understanding of safety and strengthens their physical ability. Children are fiercely independent and manage their personal hygiene well. They eagerly put on their own coats and boots to go outside. They relish helping staff in preparing the fresh fruit, for example, by peeling and chopping bananas. A rolling snack time helps

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

children to develop an awareness of their bodily needs whilst letting them play uninterrupted. Fresh water is always available so that children can help themselves to a drink whenever they feel thirsty. Meal times are promoted as social experiences where children learn to relax and develop their conversation skills as well as enjoying their healthy lunch boxes. Staff sit with the children to reinforce the social aspect of the time and parents receive guidelines about healthy eating and suggestions on what to include in lunch boxes.

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provision

The management and staff demonstrate a strong passion to achieve the highest standards in care and education. They share a vision to provide an excellent service for the children and their families and make a positive difference to their lives. The manager and staff have worked tirelessly to make the move into the new premises a great success and have maintained an outstanding quality of care and education. They have specifically focussed attention on areas that have the biggest impact, for example, by renovating the outdoor area and introducing children to the forest school approach for outdoor learning. Policies and procedures have all been reviewed and robustly meet the requirements of the revised Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and fully support the practice of the staff team.

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provision

Leadership of the nursery is extremely effective in supporting continuous improvement. The high aspirations of the manager and staff effectively advance the well-targeted improvement plan, which includes furthering the already high qualification levels. Consistent monitoring and robust evaluation of the quality and standards of the provision ensure that key strengths are accurately identified. A range of systems are used to evaluate impact and quality of practice. There is strong professional supervision and the manager continually monitors how effective staff are in their work through direct observations and monitoring of children's achievement records. This means that any individual child or any group falling behind their peers, or below their expected achievements are quickly identified. This results in children's needs being met effectively and relevant support services accessed. Embracing the culture of self-evaluation the

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provision

nursery welcomes support from local authority advisory team, and is also working towards additional quality assessment from the Montessori Evaluation and Accreditation Board.

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provision

Children are expertly safeguarded as the nursery has comprehensive child protection policies. Staff complete regular training to ensure that they are secure in their knowledge of current information regarding child protection, which makes certain that they always act in the best interest of children. All staff hold current first aid certificates so they can deal with minor injuries. Children are protected extremely well by the frequent checks taken by staff to identify any potential safety hazards on the premises or when they go on outings. Thorough, formal risk assessment is undertaken and the staff are extremely vigilant about the security of the children. All visitors are rigorously monitored and reminded of the staff's responsibilities to protect the children in relation to the prohibited use of mobile phones and cameras.

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provision

The nursery takes a lead role in establishing effective working relationships with other early years professionals and local schools. Reports are shared with other nurseries or pre- schools to promote continuity in learning. Specifically planned activities and resources ensure that there is a seamless transition as children move onto the next stage in their education. The staff also frequently liaise with outreach workers from the local children's centre to ensure that any child in receipt of two-year-old funding receives the best possible support.

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provision

There is an excellent partnership with parents that contributes significantly to the children's well-being and progress. The combination of informal chats and formal written information ensure that a very high level of communication is maintained. There is an established parent forum, which not only fundraises for the nursery but also provides another channel for parents to pass on important messages. The nursery continually reviews how communication can be improved further and is now sending more information to parents electronically through texts or a secure, dedicated social networking page. This gives parents an excellent insight into the weeks' events and future plans. Parents' and children's views are regularly sought, both through talking with them and through more formal questionnaires. In response to a parental request, a breakfast club has been introduced with a school run to the local primary school. Parents are

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provision

overwhelmingly supportive of the nursery and speak extremely positively about the high standard of care and education offered.

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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 EY450269 Local authority Essex Inspection number 807208

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 1 - 17 Total number of places 35 Number of children on roll 51 Name of provider Jelly Beans Montessori Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 07765 836593 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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