Happy Hands Montessori Nursery Ltd

Happy Hands Montessori Nursery Ltd St. Marys Church, Neasden Lane, LONDON, NW10 2TS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/05/2014 19/09/2012

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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

 Children develop high levels of confidence and self esteem because staff give them regular praise and encouragement.  The environment is well organised and children have access to an exciting range of activities that encourage them to use different skills.  Thorough monitoring of all aspects of the nursery supports continuous improvement. This ensures they make further developments that have the greatest impact on children.  Leadership and management of the nursery is strong. The staff team work well together to meet the needs of all children.  Children have many and varied opportunities to be creative.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always make best use of open ended questions to extend children's thinking and play effectively.  Staff do not promote the programme for mathematics as well as other areas, so children learn how numbers, shape and size can be used in everyday activities.

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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 looked at a selection of policies including safeguarding.  The inspector observed children during their activities indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector tracked two children during the inspection to monitor their learning experiences.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector spoke with the owner, manager, staff and parents.

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Information about the setting

Happy Hands Montessori Nursery Ltd registered in 2011. It is privately owned and operates from the parish centre of St. Mary's Church, Willesden, within the London Borough of Brent. Children have access to a large open-plan hall. There is an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 43 weeks of the year. There are currently 90 children on roll. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or learning difficulties. There are currently 12 members of staff, including the manager, who work with the children and all hold a relevant qualification. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and follows the Montessori teaching ethos.

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

 challenge children's learning further by using more open ended questions to promote their curiosity and problem solving skills

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

 extend children's learning of numbers, shape and size during their play and daily routines.

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who attend

Children are happy and settled. The room is thoughtfully laid out, well resourced and meets the needs of the children who attend. Children have a good awareness of where resources are and what is on offer. They move happily around the room choosing what they want to play with indoors and outdoors. Staff have a good knowledge of each child, what they like to do and ensure there are activities and equipment for all children to access that interests them. For example, children enjoy playing in the sand which staff make available indoors and outdoors, whilst other children enjoy role play in the home corner. This actively engages children in their play for the vast majority of their time at nursery. Staff knowledge of child development means they are able to provide resources and activities that meet each of the children's needs and help them learn. They refer to recognised guidance about child development to ensure all areas of learning are covered

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who attend

and as a result, children make good progress in their learning. Staff take opportunities to join in children's play and make it purposeful. For example, when children are playing in the big sandpit outdoors, a member of staff joins them and suggests they make a volcano together, reminding the children of a previous activity they enjoyed. However, on occasion staff do not always extend children's thinking by not using open-ended questions to further develop the children's curiosity and problem solving skills.

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who attend

Children's communication and language skills are developing well. Home languages are respected and staff speak a variety of different languages themselves. They use pictorial aids to support children's understanding of daily routines. This means children who learn English as an additional language or who have communication and language delay make good progress in their learning. Staff are good at recasting words and sentences in the correct way or adding commentary to play. This supports children's communication skills well. Staff have high expectations of all children, for example, older children take part in phonic sessions in preparation for going to school.

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who attend

Children's imaginative play receives good support both indoors and outside, with resources that encourage their play ideas. Staff support from a distance when appropriate so as not to interfere with individual play. Children become absorbed in their play; making up games with their peers. For example, whilst riding on the bikes outdoors or cooking pretend food using the microwave in the home corner. Children are encouraged to make their own choices and use their imaginations. They have many opportunities to be creative using rollers to paint on a fence outdoors or at an easel indoors. They also take part in regular music sessions when they sing favourite songs. Children have opportunities to develop their fine motor skills by playing with play dough or completing puzzles. Staff use some mathematical language such as 'big' and 'little', however, they do not extend children's mathematics during play and daily routines such as recognising shape in the environment

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who attend

or counting the number of children in a group.

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who attend

The nursery keeps parents informed about their children's progress and achievement through both formal and informal discussions. Staff complete the progress check for two- year-old children. They are effective in monitoring the children's developing skills, which shows they are making good progress in all areas of learning. Staff share these checks with parents. Parents are able to add comments to the progress check and regular progress report sheets that tells them what their children have been doing at nursery. Consequently, staff work effectively in partnership with parents to promote children's learning.

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

Kind and helpful staff help children to feel secure. A well-established key person system helps children form secure attachments with staff and promotes their well-being and independence. This means children are comfortable with most staff, not just their key person, demonstrating harmonious relationships. Staff find out about children's backgrounds and needs through discussions with parents and offering settling in visits. Positive relationships between children, staff and parents enable children to feel secure and confident in the nursery.

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

Staff have a good awareness of what children like to play with and help them settle at an activity of interest. Children develop a good understanding of how to behave kindly towards each other because staff teach them to be thoughtful and considerate. They talk to older children about the impact of their actions on younger children, for example, when blocking the doorway and not letting them through. Staff are well deployed. They supervise children well and have a consistent approach to behaviour management. Staff remind children about simple rules and communicate consistently as a team to try to prevent unwanted behaviour. As a result, they are attentive to all children's needs. Staff teach children to share and take turns in their play. They offer reassuring support to new children who are settling in. Praise and encouragement from staff helps to ensure that children develop high levels of positive self-esteem. As a result, children are well

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

mannered and able to follow simple rules.

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

Children have access to fresh drinking water throughout the day and staff encourage them to drink. Children are encouraged to pour their own drinks, which encourages them to gain some personal independence skills at meal times. They wash their hands before meals and snacks. Staff talk to them about the need for hygiene and remind the children they are washing away the germs. Children have a choice of healthy snacks and a fresh balanced meal prepared on site daily, or parents can provide their own food. Children have regular, free flow access to a well-resourced outdoor area. They have plenty of opportunities for fresh air and have space to take part in activities, such as digging in the sand pit and pushing wheelbarrows, which help them to gain control of their large and small muscles.

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

Staff show good safeguarding awareness to protect children's welfare. For example, they follow clear guidance for reporting accidents, including sharing written reports with parents, and know what to do if they have concerns about a child. Daily checks are carried out to ensure everything children come into contact with indoors and outdoors is safe. This allows the children the freedom to play in a safe and secure environment under good supervision. It enables them to manage their own risks, for example by moving freely between indoors and outdoors or transporting equipment around the room. Children's behaviour shows they feel safe and secure in the nursery as they learn to follow rules.

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provision

The management of the provision is very effective. Staff are well supported to continually move forward in their professional development. The management provide good leadership and have a strong focus on providing high quality provision. Therefore, the staff are motivated and work well as a team. Robust recruitment and vetting procedures, along with thorough induction and ongoing support ensures staff understand their roles and responsibilities effectively, which helps protect children. Management monitor staff performance well through formal appraisal and supervision. The manager oversees the key person records of how children are developing through regular opportunities to speak to staff individually. A comprehensive tracking system ensures that all children are making progress regardless of their starting points. There is an effective procedure for safeguarding children's well being and staff are aware

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provision

of what to do if they have concerns about a child's welfare. Staff are familiar with and follow safeguarding procedures. Security is in place to ensure no one can have unsupervised access to the nursery and children. For example, a coded door lock allows only staff to open the doors into the nursery. Children's safety receives high priority with effective measures in place to keep them safe. Good staff deployment allows them to supervise children closely. All staff understand their roles in keeping children safe. The manager has high expectations for the quality and care they provide for the children and families. The way staff manage children's behaviour is appropriate to children's age and stage of development. Management complete regular reviews and audits of documents and overall practice to ensure they meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage to a good standard.

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provision

The manager is reflective and is aware of areas for development as well as strengths. They demonstrate a drive for improvement through a clear and successful improvement plan that supports children's achievements. Management identify strengths and weaknesses through accurate self-evaluation, which takes into account the views of staff, parents and children. Parents report that they are happy with their children's care, learning and development. They speak highly of the setting and recommend it to others. They state that their children receive good support to settle and that they are progressing well. The manager and her staff have good partnerships that benefits children's overall care and development.

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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 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. 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

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. 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 EY424918 Local authority Brent Inspection number 952316 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 90 Name of provider Happy Hands Montessori Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 19/09/2012 Telephone number 07875 514968

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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

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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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