Coolham Montessori Nursery School

Coolham Montessori Nursery School Coolham Village Hall, Billingshurst Road, Coolham, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 8QN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/11/2014 03/06/2009

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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

 The quality of teaching is good. Children are engaged during activities and are motivated to learn.  Children make consistently good progress in their learning and development. This is because staff are aware of children's interests and plan activities that provide good levels of challenge.  The key person system is effective. However, children have strong bonds with all of the staff which means they feel safe and secure.  The manager and staff work in partnership with parents and successfully involve them in their child's learning. This supports children's future learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always provide children with explanations to further support their knowledge of how to keep themselves safe.  Occasionally staff do not give children enough time to respond to their questions which does not fully develop their critical skills.

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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 activities in the indoor and outdoor environment.  The inspector spoke to staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed children's learning journals and tracked their development from their starting points.  The inspector sampled the setting's policies and discussed these with the manager.  The inspector spoke to parents and gained their views on the staff and the setting.

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Information about the setting

Coolham Montessori Nursery School registered in 2005. The nursery is situated in the local village hall and provides early years care and education for children from the surrounding villages. Children use the entrance area and the main hall, and they have free-flow access to daily outdoor play provision. Children attend for a variety of sessions during school term times and these are available for 38 weeks of the year. Operational times are 8.45am to 2.45pm on a Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 8.45am to 12 noon on Tuesday and Friday. There are seven staff employed at the setting and five staff work with children on a daily basis. All staff hold early years or Montessori qualifications. They follow the Montessori philosophy and incorporate this into the curriculum for all children. There are currently 24 children aged from two years on roll. The setting receive funding for children aged two, three and four. The nursery has close links with the local community and early

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Information about the setting

years support networks. The setting is on the Early Years Register and both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register.

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

 develop children's understanding of how to keep themselves safe while inside the setting

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

 allow children time to respond to staff's questions so that they can develop their critical thinking skills.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of how to effectively promote the seven areas of learning and development. The planning and assessment system is secure and staff realise the importance of focusing on children's interests to promote their learning. Staff regularly observe children and track their development. Consequently, staff are able to quickly identify and address any gaps in children's progress appropriately. Therefore, all children are making good steady progress in their learning which supports their school readiness. Staff carry out the required progress check for all two-year-old children. Staff share these assessments with parents and welcome their input and feedback. Daily handovers provide parents with relevant information about their child's development which ensures they are involved in their children's future learning.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is consistently good. Staff provide children with a stimulating environment which motivates them to explore and learn. Staff are skilful in gently extending children's current level of knowledge and understanding. For example, at the inspection children played in a water tray with toy sea creatures. They picked up the different animals and confidently described what they could see. Staff praised children for recognising the creatures and repeated the words correctly, 'Yes you are right, that is a crab'. This helps to develop children's communication and language development. Children used different coloured shapes which connected together to make a mobile. Staff asked the children to recognise the different colours and shapes which successfully helped to develop their knowledge and their communication and language development. Children were confident when doing this so staff extended and challenged children's learning by

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who attend

asking them to count all of the heart shapes they could see. This required children to group and match different objects. This supports children's emerging mathematical development. Staff support children through positive interaction and offer lots of praise and encouragement which means they have the confidence to have a go. At the inspection children sat together for circle time and sang good morning to each other. Staff and children used simple signing which encourages children who may not be confident to communicate within a group to participate. Children sang Happy Birthday to their friends and the birthday children walked around the circle three to four times depending on their age. The rest of the group sang 'There was an Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer and then they were one?.' This continued each time the individual child walked around the circle until they reached their age. This helped to develop children's understanding of the

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who attend

Staff embrace the Montessori teaching method and work on a 1-1 basis with children to assess their skills. For example, staff used traditional Montessori equipment to teach children about quantities and counting. At the inspection children demonstrated good levels of confidence while using a box of spindles and counted independently when moving the correct amount of spindles to their section. This developed their mathematical understanding. Staff encourage children to think and make their own decisions during play. Children enjoyed playing with play dough during the inspection and asked staff for help to make a tractor. Staff skilfully asked the children how many wheels a tractor had and whether they were big or small. They asked what else they would like to add to their tractor. Together the children and staff discussed what they would need for the engine that the children wanted to put on to it. Therefore, children are becoming confident

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who attend

communicators and are beginning to have the confidence to explore their own ideas. Children were observed to enjoy taking part in creative activities. Staff prepared kite shapes and children confidently chose from a selection of paints, colouring pencils and sticking resources to decorate their kites. Staff asked children what colours they were using which encouraged them to think and respond. However, occasionally staff did not give children enough time to respond to their questions which does not fully develop their critical thinking skills.

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

All children have a strong bond with the staff. Staff are attentive and warm. They take the time to listen to children and learn about their interests. There is a key-person system in place but all of the staff have a good understanding of children's development levels and routines. This ensures that children's emotional well-being is constantly met and this promotes their confidence and self-esteem. The setting is well resourced and set up with various different activities for the children to choose from when they arrive. Children arrive happily and cuddle the staff. Staff ask each child to find their name from the table and post it into the box. This develops children's literacy skills and helps children to understand routine. Children enjoyed talking about themselves and recall experiences from home. This develops children's confidence, self-esteem and makes them feel important within the setting.

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

Staff encourage children to be independent. For example, a member of staff says to a child, 'I can help you get a tissue and blow your nose but you can probably do it by yourself.' This supports children's developing self-help skills. At the inspection the staff reminded children to walk around the hall and not to run. Children acknowledged the staff and listened to them. However, very occasionally staff did not offer an explanation as to why they should not run which means the children do not always understand why they should keep themselves safe. Children play very well together. They show good levels of confidence in social situations and shared resources appropriately. Children behave very well. During the inspection they helped staff to ring the bell and all children stopped what they were doing and listened. The member of staff told children that she was turning over the blue sand timer and asked them what that meant. Children confidently told the staff

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

that when the sand runs out it would be time to tidy up. This gives children warning as to what is happening next in their day and helps them understand what staff expect from them.

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

Children have access to different outdoor areas surrounding the village hall. They also benefit from going on nature walks through the field next to the setting. This also provides a large space for children to run around. In addition to this, there is a small play area equipped with swings and a slide. This successfully promotes a healthy lifestyle and children's gross physical development. Staff remind children to be careful when walking down the stairs to go outside and to make sure they walk so they do not fall and hurt themselves. This makes children aware of how to keep themselves safe. At the inspection the children enjoyed playing outside and raced their cars, bikes and scooters up and down the paths. Other children explored keyboards and telephones to develop their confidence in using technological equipment. Staff encouraged role play and offered writing materials resources for children to take messages from each other while they are on the telephones.

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

Children showed that they understand that they must take turns with their friends and share the resources. Children independently went to retrieve a sand timer from inside the setting and sat patiently waiting for the five minute sand timer to run about before it was their turn. This also helps children to understand the concept of time.

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provision

The manager and staff have a strong understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. The manager is the designated person for child protection and ensures that her training is up to date. All of the staff have received safeguarding training and are confident in identifying and recording any concerns should they arise. Staff record all existing injuries/concerns about a child's welfare in a book which is kept securely. Staff are confident in knowing who to report their concerns to and the manager knows how to report any concerns she may have. There is a detailed child protection policy in place which underpins their knowledge of safeguarding procedures. The manager and staff are well aware of the legal ratios and deploy themselves effectively around the setting. Therefore staff supervise children effectively at all times and children are kept safe.

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provision

All staff are suitable to work with children. Suitability checks are in place for all of the staff who are also all qualified to a minimum of level two in early years and childcare. Half of the staff hold a full and valid paediatric first-aid certificate. The manager has also attended various courses on children's development, including working with children who speak English as an additional language. The manager receives a training plan from the local council which she shares with the staff to see what training they would like to receive. Due to being a pack-away setting the staff often discuss children's development, planning and thoughts at the end of each session. In addition to the daily discussions, the manager holds appraisals with her staff to discuss any training, development needs and improvement for their practice. The setting has completed the self-evaluation document and highlighted their strengths and weaknesses. For example, they would like another

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provision

doorbell fitted to the exterior gate so that they are aware of any unexpected visitors gaining access to the outdoor area. They understand the importance of monitoring their provision and developing their practice and make this a priority. Staff welcome parental feedback and contributions and encourage them to make suggestions for improving the setting's policies and procedures. This allows parents to have an input into how the setting is run and how their children are cared for.

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provision

The setting has written safety check lists in place which are completed every day. Staff check all areas of the setting for possible risks and inform the hall manager if anything is identified. The door is always locked and children only go outside under adult supervision. Due to the setting being a pack-away setting all resources are checked regularly as the staff have to set up each day. This helps to ensure that all equipment is suitable for children. The manager understands the importance of working in partnership with other settings that children attend. Systems are in place to discuss the child's progress via letter or telephone every term with their key person at the other setting. This ensures that both key persons are aware of the child's development and next steps for their learning. Consequently, the staff work together to support each child's development. The setting has a good relationship with local schools. Before children start school they visit their

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provision

chosen school to see experience their new environment. The teachers visit the setting to observe the children and speak to the children's key person. The setting embraces working with external agencies and welcomes any additional support that other professionals can give with regards to extending and supporting children's development.

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provision

Partnership with parents is strong. The staff encourage parents to provide information about their children's routines, interests and overall development from the very beginning. Staff ask for parents to feedback on how they think their child has settled and if there is anything else they would like the staff to do to support them further. This supports parent's involvement with the setting and guarantees that their values, beliefs and requests are taken into account. Staff provide parents with plenty of information about the setting and what their children have done or will be doing. This helps parents to feel involved in their child's learning and encourages conversation at home. Parents offer high levels of praise for the setting and all of the staff. Parents state that although their child has a key person they have a 'great relationship' with all of the staff. Parents find this settling and know that their children are happy and safe. Parents comment on how

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provision

confident their children are in social situations and that their range of vocabulary has extended noticeably since they started at the setting.

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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 EY313759 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 834395 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 24 Name of provider Susan Anne Tully Date of previous inspection 03/06/2009 Telephone number 01403 741101

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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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