Cherrytrees Montessori

Cherrytrees Montessori School Cossington Village Hall, Trivetts Way, Cossington, Bridgwater, TA7 8LH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/12/2014 08/05/2012

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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 learn good problem solving skills through first-hand experiences.  Staff motivate children to develop new skills by following their interests and extending their learning.  The successful partnership with parents helps to meet children's needs well.  The effective key person system supports children in settling in, according to their individual needs, so that they are emotionally secure.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always encourage children to recognise the concept of cause and effect as they play.  Some staff occasionally miss opportunities to promote children's mathematical development further.

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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 indoors and outdoors.  The inspector offered the manager the opportunity to do a joint observation.  The inspector spoke to parents and took account of the setting's development plan.  The inspector checked safeguarding information and the premises.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation, including policies, procedures and children's development records.

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Information about the setting

Cherrytrees Montessori School registered at new premises in 2011, having first opened in 1992. The setting is privately owned and operates from one large room within Cossington Village Hall, in Cossington, near Bridgwater, Somerset. There is an enclosed rear area for outside play. The setting is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register. There are currently 20 children on roll between two years and the end of the early years age range. The setting receives funding to provide free early education for children aged three and four years. It follows the Montessori educational philosophy. The setting is open Monday to Wednesday from 9.15am to 3pm term time only. The manager has a Montessori Teaching Certificate and holds Early Years Professional Status. She employs four members of staff to work with the children. The deputy holds an early years qualification at level 4 and two staff hold qualifications at level 3. One member of staff is working towards an

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Information about the setting

early years qualification at level 3 and the manager is working towards a Masters degree.

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

 strengthen children's awareness of cause and effect by consistently posing questions during their play

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

 make the most of all opportunities to support children's mathematical development further.

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who attend

Staff seek good information from parents during children's settling-in period so that they get to know the children well. This enables them to plan how they can meet children's needs and challenge their development from the start. Staff make daily observations, keep records to monitor children's development and share these with parents, so that they can support learning at home. This includes the Every Child A Talker monitoring forms, to ensure all children develop good speaking skills. Staff plan an environment that enables children to lead their own learning and as a result, all children make good progress in their learning and development.

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who attend

Staff provide good support for children to develop strong skills in their key areas of development. They use daily routines for children to develop independence and physical skills, such as putting on their coats and boots. Children collect their cups at snack time, pour their own drinks and take it in turns to help prepare the snack. Lunch is a social occasion, with staff engaging children in conversations. Staff role model how they are still learning and support children really well in solving problems through first hand experiences. For example, when the lift of the toy garage broke, staff provided real tools for children. They encouraged them to think about what they needed to do and showed that they too found things difficult. As a result, children used screwdrivers to remove some screws, checked to see if that helped and then removed more. Staff pointed out when they made a mistake and asked children what they could do to fix it. They enabled

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who attend

children to do as much as they could for themselves and to think about how they could solve problems as they arose.

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who attend

Children enjoy stories, sitting close to staff and paying attention. They demonstrate good listening skills as they ask questions and respond to staff comments. Children enjoy practising their early writing skills. For example, they use clip boards to write children's names for the register. They draw lines and circles, stating which letters they represent, and some use recognisable letters. Staff support children in working out which numbers come next as they complete puzzles. Children count from the beginning each time, which reinforces their ability to recognise numbers. However, when children make a mistake, staff sometimes miss opportunities for children to work out if they are correct. For example, children thought a number nine was a six. Staff showed children how they can look the same when turned upside down but did not encourage children to count the items to find out which is which.

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who attend

Children demonstrate good imagination; they take on roles of animals as they play with small world toys, for example. Staff tell children the purpose of some activities, such as making Christmas decorations. They use props to engage children and demonstrate how they are made. Then children have opportunities to choose if and when they want to make them for themselves. Outside, children experimented with mixing sand and water; they added different items, including stones and cars, to make a cake. Staff helped children to use scoops, tea pots and pans to transfer water from the tap, and to get sand from a bucket. However, staff suggested adding more sand to soak up the water, missing an opportunity to support children in noticing what effect the water was having on the sand and that the stones were sinking.

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who attend

Staff follow children's lead, which motivates them to learn. They support and challenge children through good questioning and providing additional resources. For example, staff provided wooden blocks for children playing with cars, which they used to make ramps. Staff asked children what would happen if they added another brick, making the ramp steeper. Consequently, children made predictions and tested their ideas. Children then made their own suggestions, posing their own questions and seeing what happened. This extended their learning through having fun and playing. Children play well together, listening to and testing each other's ideas. Staff meet the needs of the range of children who attend and prepare them well for school.

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

Parents new to the setting comment positively on how staff help their children to settle and become confident with their surroundings. They state that the staff really understand their children's uniqueness and as a result, their children have become very relaxed within a small space of time. Parents remain with their children until their children are confident for them to leave; this is done according to each child and their family's needs. As a result, children are happy, engage well with the staff and each other, and behave well. The manager provides a good role model, talking to children in a calm, respectful way. Children understand the staff's expectations, such as only running in the segregated area at the top of the hall and always being king to each other. Staff provide good support for children's emotional well-being, preparing them well for moving onto another setting or school.

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

Staff set the hall up every day, using low storage trolleys as partitions. This makes the large hall more welcoming and provides learning areas. They place children's coats and boots by the door to the garden, so children can access them easily to go outside in winter. Staff deploy themselves effectively and this ensures they are successful in promoting children's well-being and meeting their needs. The nursery follows the Montessori philosophy, which means there are many resources that teach life skills and are graded by developmental stage. This enables children to select their own level and once successful, move onto the next stage. Staff teach the children to care for the resources and to put them back where they found them. This enables other children to know where to find the resources and lessens frustration through lost pieces. Staff provide resources that children can use in any way their imagination takes them. For example,

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

children used sheets and blankets to make a den. Staff observe what the children enjoy and use this information to change and adapt the environment. For example, from children's current fascination with sand and water, they are implementing a mud kitchen to extend this further.

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

Staff receive training in safeguarding children and first aid, so they have a good understanding of child protection procedures and how to deal with an accident. They support children well in developing a good understanding of keeping themselves safe. For example, staff remove any brambles in the garden and use the appearance of any nettles to teach children about safety around plants. Staff use opportunities as they arise to talk to children about safety, such as lighting the candles on children's birthday cakes and using tools. Children spontaneously talk about safety in their games. For example, they talked about being careful with the oven, as they pretended to bake a cake. Staff draw a stop line outside and children know not to ride their bikes any further, to prevent running into children playing there. Staff use routines such as lunch time to talk to children about healthy eating, drinking plenty of water and the reason for washing their hands. Children

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

clean their teeth, and learn the importance of exercise and dressing appropriately for the weather, all of which helps them to develop a good awareness of healthy practices.

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provision

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements, and implement their policies and procedures successfully. Parents complete good written information for staff, for example if someone different will be collecting their children. High staff ratios ensure children receive good supervision and staff follow consistently effective procedures at arrival and collection time to keep children safe. The staff carry out stringent risk assessments each morning, which is particularly important because they do not have sole use of the premises. There are good recruitment procedures, so staff understand their roles and responsibilities. The manager has effective systems to gain an overview of each child's development. She evaluates these to identify not only any gaps in children's individual learning but to see if any groups, such as boys and girls, can be supported further. She ensures staff complete the progress check for

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provision

two-year-old children, demonstrating a good understanding of the learning and development requirements.

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provision

The manager works directly with the staff and children. This enables her to monitor the quality of teaching and provide a strong role model for high quality practice. She is working towards a Masters degree in early education so that she can extend her leadership and management skills. Staff have good opportunities to attend training and look at how this will benefit the children. For example, they have requested Forest School training to develop children's skills in taking assessed risks. The manager and staff regularly review their practice and seek parents' feedback to find out if they are meeting their needs. They are currently looking at ensuring they label all resources for easier selection by children and continually look for ways to improve the environment. The manager gives staff time to reflect on their quality of teaching and any issues they have, and she provides positive feedback on their strengths. Consequently, she has a dedicated

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provision

team that is eager to continue its development.

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provision

Parents receive regular newsletters to inform them of planned topics and staff invite them in to share their skills. Parents comment on how staff take time to explain children's development, such as their drawings and marks. Parents see children's development records regularly and each term, they receive a report, showing where the children were at the beginning of term and their progress so far. The staff are developing their partnerships with other early years settings as they have recently started caring for children who attend other provisions as well. Currently, they seek information through parents; however they are looking at ways to strengthen these relationships further. This is to ensure a highly consistent approach to children's learning 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. 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 EY438483 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 838988 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 20 Name of provider Margaret Ann Dobbs Date of previous inspection 08/05/2012 Telephone number 01458210436

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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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