Manor Grove Montessori Ltd

Manor Grove Montessori Limited Manor Farm Bungalow, Church Lane, Tingewick, Buckinghamshire, MK18 4RD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/04/2014 09/03/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 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

 The strong key person system effectively supports children's well-being so that they are confident and happy at the nursery.  Staff have a good awareness of how children learn and use a range of different teaching approaches to help them make effective progress.  Strong relationships and links with parents enable staff to share information about the children and their learning at home and in the nursery.  The management demonstrate a good understanding of their responsibilities of keeping children safe and clearly follow the safeguarding policy and procedures.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always plan the adults' role effectively in adult-led activities meaning the learning outcome for children is not always fully supported.  Staff do not always respond promptly to some children's disruptive behaviour to refocus them to activities to minimise any disturbance to other children.

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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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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 all rooms including the outdoor area.  The inspector had discussions with staff, parents and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's assessment and a range of policies and procedures.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Manor Grove Montessori Nursery is privately owned and registered in 2008. It operates from a converted bungalow in the village of Tingewick, near Buckingham, in Buckinghamshire. The nursery is comprised of four rooms; a kitchen, washing, toileting and nappy changing facilities, as well as office space. There is a fully enclosed rear garden for children's outdoor activities. The nursery opens each weekday from 8am to 6pm throughout the year. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Currently, there are 32 children on roll who are all in the early years age range. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four years.

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Information about the setting

The nursery's educational philosophy is based on the Montessori method. The nursery employs eight staff including the manager, six of whom hold relevant qualifications at level 3 or above. The manager has Early Years Professional status, along with a Montessori Diploma and forest school training. One other member of staff holds the Montessori diploma and forest school training.

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

 define the staff's role for adult-led activities more clearly to enhance the planning and learning outcomes for children

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

 strengthen support for children who become restless during activities to minimise the impact on other children's play.

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who attend

Staff know the children well and use this knowledge to teach and support the children's learning and development efficiently using a range of good techniques. They establish children's starting points for learning by gathering information from parents and from key- person observations during the settling-in period. They then use this information to support what each child needs to learn next. Overall, planning is consistent through the nursery as staff base this securely on every child's individual needs and interests. During some adult-led planned activities staff do not always clearly define their role in educating the children, which has an impact on their quality of teaching and outcomes for children. Parents are kept well informed of their child's learning during termly parent meetings and informal chats. The staff complete the required progress check for two-year-old children and share the information with parents. This approach helps parents keep well informed

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who attend

about how to support their child's development at home.

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who attend

Children are keen to choose activities inside and outside at the nursery where they make good progress in their learning. Adults demonstrate a good understanding of where and when to get involved. As a result, children develop their own learning through play, for example, the older children organise their own game of bat and ball outside, deciding when it is time to swap the bats over with their friends. When a younger child joins in and gets frustrated the adult motivates them by reassuring the child that it takes practice and time to learn new skills and the child will get better at it. This approach helps to ensure that children feel confident to have a go and try new skills.

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who attend

The younger children sit reading a book about bugs outside with an adult who teaches them about the natural world around them. The adult skilfully asks them if they remember what bugs they have been learning about recently, giving time for the children to talk and respond. This approach encourages children to think and develop their own ideas. Children are independent learners and confident to choose the Montessori activities and resources that interest them. However, at times the older children's behaviour becomes less focused and boisterous and the staff do not intervene quickly enough to redirect these children. As a result, the younger children's play is sometimes disrupted.

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who attend

Children with additional needs including children who are learning English as an additional language make good progress. This is because staff have a good awareness of how children develop and use a range of different teaching approaches to support them. For example, key persons ask new parents for key words for children who are learning English as an additional language, then they share these words with other staff to settle new children. This approach helps to ensure children get the care and support they need.

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who attend

The staff have attended forest school training and implement this practice one day a week in a local field. Children learn about safety during their forest school activities, for example, they proudly explain how they cook over an open fire. Parents comment that their children have become more physically able since attending these sessions as the children are encouraged to climb trees. The children bring this risk-taking approach back to the nursery where the outside equipment supports children as they practise swinging and climbing. As a result, the children are very confident to have a go at the opportunities presented to them.

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who attend

Children make good progress in the prime areas of learning and development. For example, effective use of group time encourages the older children to talk and listen to each other, promoting their social skills as well as communication and language development. Staff chat and sing routinely with all children and model the use of language during the day and at mealtimes when the staff eat alongside the children.

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who attend

Staff have worked at extending the children's creative opportunities, offering open-ended resources and encouraging the children to create using their imagination to express their ideas. The children's individual work is displayed throughout the nursery supporting the children's self-esteem and showing that their efforts are valued. Early writing opportunities are available throughout the nursery for the children to develop skills in readiness for school. The nursery works alongside the local school to ensure a consistent approach to children's early literacy. Large painting and chalking boards and a writing table with a range of accessible material are all made available for children to practise their writing skills. Staff are knowledgeable about how to teach children to recognise early phonic sounds; they stop during a story to sound out letters and encourage the children to repeat them. These rich learning opportunities help prepare

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who attend

children for the next stage of learning when they move up to school.

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

Children's well-being is robustly supported at this nursery. There is a well-planned and effective settling in process where the child and parent spend time with the child's key person; this gives new parents ample time to share information about their child and to raise questions. The key person then takes on the individual care responsibility for their key child. The children build strong relationships as staff provides genuine warmth and affection. The adults show a strong interest in children, listening attentively to them and swiftly meeting their personal needs. The children settle quickly into the daily routine because staff create a warm and welcoming environment. This means children feel safe and secure and gain the confidence to explore the rooms and outdoor environment. The environment is set up for children to develop their independence both inside and outdoors. Consequently, children access a wide choice of activities and resources to

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

extend their ideas. Outside the children cook with sand in the home corner, explore for bugs and match numbers to shapes to develop their mathematical skills.

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

Inside the nursery all resources are accessible on low shelves to promote children's independence and decision-making skills. Staff use the Montessori equipment with the children effectively to support learning and the children are encouraged to select an activity and mat and prepare their own work space. The younger children have their own base room where the staff have recently developed treasure baskets to help ensure the younger children benefit from a good range of sensory experiences.

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

The nursery promotes a balanced and healthy lifestyle for the children. Healthy snacks and nutritious meals are prepared for the children and drinking water is available all day. The adults eat with the children to further promote healthy eating and support children's social skills. All the children learn to follow good health routines such as washing their hands before meals and individually washing up their plate and bowl after meals. After lunch the younger children have a sleep while the older children are encouraged to engage in quieter activities such as card games with the adults. Staff record details of children's care routines and nappy changes for parents so they know how the staff have been caring for their child's individual needs.

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

Children have plenty of opportunity to exercise and access fresh air, due to the layout of the nursery, allowing access to a fully enclosed outdoor area. The children have good opportunities to keep themselves safe; they help tidy up and are reminded of the nursery rules by the adults. The adults use a timer for the popular computer tablet with the older children to promote cooperation and turn-taking skills. Children of all ages show a sense of belonging to the nursery; they have their photographs on their pegs, colour coded to their key person, they follow the nursery routine with confidence and join in with adult-led activities such as circle time.

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

The resources in the nursery reflect the diverse wider community and there is a range of resources such as dressing up, puzzles, posters and books that show positive images of people. Staff are alert to children's curiosity, for example sensitively discussing skin colour with the older children. This diverse learning environment helps children to develop an understanding of their world, different people and communities.

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

The nursery works in partnership with other settings to ensure transitions for each child are effective. The teacher from the local school visits the children and end of term reports are shared; this approach helps to ensure children are prepared appropriately to move on from the nursery.

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provision

The manager demonstrates a thorough understanding of their responsibility to meet all requirements as set out in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff benefit from supervision, appraisals and professional development meetings to support their professional development and performance management. The manager follows a safe recruitment and vetting process, which ensures all adults working with children are safe to do so.

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provision

The manager and staff have a good understanding of safeguarding children procedures and work to well-developed policies. The manager is the designated safeguarding lead person, and all staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities to protect children's welfare. The premises are secure and staff supervise children efficiently to reduce the risk of accident and injury and protect their well-being. There is a password system in place for parents to use if an additional adult needs to pick up their child so that children are only collected by authorised persons.

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provision

The management monitor how well staff meet the learning and development requirements and regularly review children's assessment records to make sure they are making good progress in all areas of learning. The nursery has recently started to work in partnership with local settings and schools to moderate children's assessment to ensure consistency in assessment and children's readiness for school.

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provision

Since the last inspection the manager has worked extremely hard to progress the nursery; there is now a strong self-evaluation process in place. The staff team constantly review what is working well and have identified and implemented areas for additional improvement during a recent Montessori quality assurance scheme to raise standards and improve outcomes for children. The manager has a focused approach to continued quality improvement and the next improvement action is to get more staff trained in forest school teaching practices to support this area of provision. This demonstrates the manager's commitment to making ongoing improvements to the quality of the nursery provision for children.

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provision

Strong partnership with parents is a real strength at the nursery and staff continue to foster this by actively involving the parents in their child's time at the nursery. Recent events have included a mother's day tea party where the mothers received an invitation to come to tea with their child at the nursery. There have also been social events for parents so they feel welcome and involved in their children's care and learning. Parents praise these events as it enabled them to meet other parents as different dropping off and pick up times can make this difficult. There is a constant two-way flow of information between the nursery and parents and this has a positive impact on children's learning. Parents say that the staff are 'genuinely interested' in their child and are always available to talk.

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provision

Other partnerships include the local authority advisors who have supported the nursery in preparation for their inspection and provided audits for the welfare and learning and development requirements.

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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 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 EY384374 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 844559 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 16 Number of children on roll 32 Name of provider Manor Grove Montessori Limited Date of previous inspection 09/03/2009 Telephone number 01280 848626

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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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