Newpark Montessori Nursery School

Newpark Montessori Nursery School 22 Seward Street, London, EC1V 3PA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/05/2013 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 offer children an outstanding and enjoyable range of activities and resources, which challenge them and focus strongly on all areas of learning.  Very strong partnership with parents means that staff meet children's individual needs very well and support them to progress and achieve continuously.  Strong and effective support for staff helps them to develop professionally, so that they support children to an outstanding level.  Children develop happy, secure attachments with staff, which means all children are confident and independent.

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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

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged 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 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  scheduled 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 observed children's play and staff interaction, indoors and outside.  The inspector and manager undertook a joint observation of a teaching activity.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined documentation including a representative sample of children's records, development plans and staff suitability records.

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Information about the setting

Newpark Montessori Nursery School opened in 2012 and is one of four nurseries privately managed by Newpark Childcare. It operates from a new purpose built residential development in the central development of Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. There is one entrance to the nursery, from a pedestrian walkway between Seward Street and Pear Tree Street. The nursery is fully wheelchair accessible. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 7pm for 50 weeks of the year. There are currently 35 children on roll under five years. The nursery consists of two main playrooms with two smaller separate garden rooms. There is an office, laundry, kitchen and children's bathroom with nappy changing facilities. A separate adult bathroom with cloakroom is suitable for disabled use. There is a large outdoor garden that children can access freely. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. The nursery supports children with

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Information about the setting

special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who learn English as an additional language. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for three and four-year-old children. There are eight members of staff, including a manager, deputy and chef. All staff hold early years qualifications to at least level 3.

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who attend

Staff provide outstanding support to children helping them to progress and achieve very well in all areas of their development. Staff plan successfully around the seven areas of learning in each of the two playrooms across all age groups. Enthusiastic and excited children enjoy the full and stimulating range of play opportunities. Young babies develop a rich vocabulary as they point and stare at the many different coloured fish in a ceiling to floor tank. Young babies describe the colours and size of the fish, showing very good communication skills. Young children want to engage readily in conversation showing an eagerness to learn and staff readily respond to them, encouraging their language skills further.

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who attend

Very young babies, who are crawling and bottom shuffling, freely move around the room with confidence. They develop their co-ordination skills very effectively as they move forward and backwards to where they want to go. Older children enjoy control and movement as they ride bikes and different wheeled toys with ease. They ride around the track in the garden with speed and show a very good awareness of space and others around them. However, staff miss opportunities to enable children to plant and grow things outside, to further support their understanding of the natural world.

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who attend

Older children form very positive relationships with each other as they sit on the carpet and play with the small train set. They share and take turns readily while putting the pieces together. Children develop early mathematical skills effectively as they count the bricks whilst placing them in the train. Staff extend children's learning well by offering them ideas to test out. Children then solve problems confidently by selecting smaller and bigger pieces, testing out which ones fit in the train. Children enjoy listening to stories read by staff developing early understanding of literacy through books.

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who attend

Young babies explore modelling dough with great interest as they mould and shape using small tools. They touch and feel water with their hands as they take part in a sea creature activity. Young babies use their own ideas as they handle small cups and saucers. Older children use their ideas and thoughts very well to make different positions with their bodies as they take part in yoga lessons.

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who attend

Staff observe and assess children regularly to identify their individual needs, interests and stage of development. They use this information very effectively to plan for children's next steps, sharing these with parents weekly. They provide this information through each child's guidance book and through daily verbal communication with parents. This process is highly effective in engaging parents in their children's learning. Staff inform parents of what their child has learnt and what learning is planned; they then inform parents of different ways to support the learning at home. Staff visit children before they start the nursery and find out as much as they can before the child starts. They invite parents to contribute to initial assessments so that they can support all new children in settling into the nursery very successfully.

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

Highly skilled staff help children to feel secure and make strong and positive attachments with them. Happy and settled young babies develop strong independence skills and are eager to explore their surroundings. They enjoy sitting and playing with staff, listening to staff and moving around the playroom to play with the resources.

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

Children show high levels of understanding of safety. For example, older children prepare snacks, carefully using adult cutlery to cut pieces of pear for children in their group. Children learn how to carry out the task safely by observing and listening carefully as staff explain the safety rules. Children learn to manage risks in the garden using wheeled toys; they learn to ride safely and not bump into other children. They practise fire drills and listen carefully to the reason for the fire drill explained by staff. Children behave very well, showing patience during Montessori tasks and while playing with other learning resources.

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

Children learn about the wider world and themselves very successfully. The large map of the world displayed on the wall shows where children's families are from, which children confidently discuss with staff. Excellent resources that reflect differences are available, such as dual-language books, imaginative play utensils and dressing up clothes. Children bring different objects back from their holidays, which staff display so that children can talk about where they have been. Large wooden maps of the world also reinforce the places children's families are from and staff use them very well for discussion. Children develop an excellent understanding of healthy foods as they talk to staff about what foods are good for them during mealtimes. They enjoy daily exercise in the garden and understand hygiene routines. Staff reinforce these routines, talking to children about why hygiene is good for their health. The outstanding resources support children's

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

development very well; all play resources are varied, interesting and stimulating. The playrooms and garden are designed to offer children excellent learning opportunities. The rooms are large, bright and full of age and stage appropriate toys.

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provision

Excellent leadership and management mean that the learning and development requirements and the safeguarding and welfare requirements support children very effectively. Staff are highly skilled at offering children a very good range of activities and resources to support their progress. Detailed and thorough observations and assessments show what staff plan for children's next steps. An excellent process to share this information with parents ensures that they know what their child has learnt and achieved.

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provision

Staff invite parents to view videos during parent's evenings of how children learn through activities and resources. This means that parents are fully aware of what the learning areas are and how children learn from them. Staff offer parents weekly updates on progress and invite them to contribute by informing staff what their child has done outside the nursery. Effective links with external agencies shows that the nursery works alongside these agencies to support children if needed. Very good links are in place with local schools. The nursery provides clear information about children's progress to promote high levels of consistency.

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provision

The staff team's effective understanding of safeguarding procedures means that they can deal with any concerns efficiently. All required documentation for the excellent running of the nursery is in place. Staff receive very good support to enhance their professional development. The management team provides successful appraisals, supervisions and training. Staff have access to a 'staff-only-blog' with all the nursery's polices and curriculum ideas to further their development. The manager undertakes very effective monitoring procedures, which includes observing staff in their rooms and providing helpful feedback. Strong self-evaluation means the nursery is continuously evaluating its strengths and weaknesses to improve successfully. This process supports meeting children's needs very effectively.

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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 action. 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 EY452022 Local authority Islington Inspection number 882221 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 64 Number of children on roll 35 Name of provider Newpark Childcare (Clerkenwell) Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 02036179955

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: 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, which are usually the childminder’s 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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