Fairfield Montessori School Ltd

Fairfield Montessori School Fairfield Montessori School, 76 Benedict Street, GLASTONBURY, Somerset, BA6 9EY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/08/2014 15/09/2011

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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

 Children enjoy a varied range of activities and experiences, which effectively promotes their learning and supports them well to make good progress.  Staff create a warm, welcoming, family-centred environment, in which children form strong attachments to staff and other children.  Partnerships with parents are strong, which effectively contributes to meeting children's needs.  Children's welfare is securely promoted because staff have a good understanding of their role and responsibility to safeguard children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always make use of everyday opportunities to further develop children's independence with their health and self-care skills.  Some art activities are over-directed by staff and do not allow children to fully explore their creativity through free access to a range of resources.

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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 compulsory part 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 both inside and outdoors.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including planning, children's records, policies and procedures.  The inspector spoke to staff, parents and children.

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Information about the setting

Fairfield Montessori School is privately owned. It re-registered with the current owner in 2011 and operates from two converted houses in the rural town of Glastonbury, Somerset. Children have access to four main playrooms, a Montessori room and music room. There are two sleep rooms and toilet facilities. There is a large, enclosed outdoor play area, including a forest school area.

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Information about the setting

The school is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 50 weeks of the year. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. The school receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four. There are currently 120 children on roll. The school supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are 19 members of staff; one member of staff holds a Montessori diploma and all, with the exception of two, hold a level 3 qualification in early years.

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

 ensure procedures for hand washing develop children's independence and consistently help to prevent the spread of infection

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

 enhance opportunities for children to explore their own creativity through free access to a range of resources.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of how children learn and develop. They use observations of the children to accurately identify appropriate areas for future learning. As a result, they have a good understanding of children's individual needs, and children remain engaged and interested. The quality of teaching is good. Staff provide children with a good range of activities and experiences, which interest and challenge them effectively to make good progress. Staff carry out progress checks for children aged between two and three years, and provide parents with a written summary. This helps to identify areas where children may require further support and enables parents to be involved in their child's learning.

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who attend

Children actively explore and investigate their environment, particularly the engaging and inviting outside area. For example, during the inspection, babies and toddlers enjoyed exploring water play, using small fishing nets to catch the plastic ducks, fish and crocodiles. They used their senses to explore the water as they let it run through their fingers and patted it with their hands. Staff encouraged the children to talk about what they were doing, effectively supporting their communication and language skills. Children of all ages played very well alongside one another. They worked cooperatively to move the parachute up and down, as they took it in turns to be different creatures that can be found under the sea. Children moved sideways like a crab and talked with the staff about how many tentacles an octopus has. This effectively promotes children's understanding of the world.

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who attend

Staff interact skilfully with the children to support and encourage their learning while they play. For example, when children are making marks with water on the board outside, the staff encourage them to draw and name different shapes. Staff effectively use the daily routines for incidental learning. For example, a member of staff counts the steps as children climb them to get onto the changing mat. This supports their mathematical development. Children have regular opportunities to take part in a range of expressive arts and design activities. This is evident from the photographic displays around the nursery of children participating in activities, and displays of their artwork. However, art activities are sometimes over-directed by staff. For example, children are given pre-printed pictures to colour in, which does not enable them to fully use their imaginations, explore and develop their own ideas. Staff use varied questioning techniques to help children learn, such as

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who attend

when reading the children a story. For example, during the inspection, a member of staff talked about borrowing books from a library and about the different parts of the book. Children were able to identify the different numerals in the story and enthusiastically joined in with familiar phrases. This encourages children's interest in books and supports their literacy skills.

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

Children are happy and confident within the school. They have developed secure attachments with their key person and the staff know the children extremely well. This helps them to settle and feel safe. The school is welcoming and well equipped with a good range of age-appropriate resources. In addition, the children have access to Montessori equipment, supported by the Montessori teacher at the school. They also enjoy exploring musical instruments as they have music sessions with the music teacher. These opportunities successfully enhance children's learning. Children have good opportunities to play in the outside area, where staff provide a wealth of resources to stimulate their interests. For example, children play in the wild garden and engage in role play in the mud kitchen. They develop their physical skills as they ride on bikes and scooters, developing their balance and coordination skills while they benefit from fresh air and exercise. This

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

supports children's emotional and physical well-being very well.

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

Staff teach the children about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They sit with the children at lunchtime and talk with them about the benefits of different foods, so that they learn about healthy eating. Older children manage their self-care skills very well. However, although children are encouraged to wash their hands after they have been in the garden, they take part in a story and singing activity before having lunch. They are not encouraged to wash their hands again before lunch time. This means this routine does not fully reduce the risk of cross-infection. In the baby and toddler rooms, staff wipe children's hands clean for them, which does not fully promote their independence.

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

Children learn about the importance of keeping themselves safe. They participate in regular fire drill procedures, so they are confident to evacuate the premises quickly and safely in an emergency, and they learn how to use the stairs safely. The school offers 'enrichment weeks', which have included staff dressing up as a lollipop woman and teaching the children about road safety. Staff are good role models, who set positive examples to the children. They offer children lots of praise when they see them sharing and taking turns. As a result, children know what is expected of them and behave very well.

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provision

Staff have a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are able to identify the signs or symptoms that may be a cause for concern and have a secure knowledge of the safeguarding and child protection arrangements to follow. There are robust systems in place for the recruitment, vetting and induction of staff, ensuring that only those suitable to do so work with children. There are also systems in place for staff supervision and yearly appraisals, which helps to ensure continued suitability. Staff are well supported to complete further training to develop their professional practice. They work well together, are well motivated and remain employed at the school for many years. Staff implement thorough risk assessments, which include daily checks on the garden before children go outside. These effective practices help to promote children's safety and well-being. Staff are well

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provision

deployed throughout the school, which further promotes children's safety.

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provision

Staff have a good understanding of the learning and development requirements. They carry out regular observations of the children while they are engaged in play and activities. Staff use this information, alongside information they have gathered from parents about children's starting points, to plan a range of activities that meets individual children's needs effectively. The educational programmes are carefully monitored, to ensure that what they provide gives children a broad range of experiences overall. Staff monitor children's progress well and provide good opportunities for future learning, based on children's interests and what they can do.

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provision

There are strong partnerships with parents. Parents' views are sought through discussion and the completion of questionnaires. Parents spoken to at the inspection were extremely happy with the service provided. They compliment the staff on their friendliness and ability to nurture their children. They are very happy with the progress that their children make and attribute this to the experiences they have at the school and the dedication of the staff team. Parents particularly value the flexibility of hours. The school has appropriate systems in place to work with other settings when children's care and learning are shared. This helps to promote consistency.

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provision

There is a strong ethos within the school to provide high-quality care and education to children. Staff regularly reflect on their practice and contribute their ideas to the self- evaluation process. As a result of self-evaluation, the school has introduced parent reviews and is looking at introducing peer-on-peer observations in September, to promote good practice and maintain continuous improvements in teaching.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of 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

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Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. 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 EY423868 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 823043 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 54 Number of children on roll 120 Name of provider Fairfield Montessori School Limited Date of previous inspection 15/09/2011 Telephone number 01458834294

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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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