First Steps Montessori Day Nursery

First Steps Montessori Day Nursery First Steps Montessori Nursery School, 254 Upland Road, LONDON, SE22 0DN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28 May 2015 Not applicable

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Not applicable How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The setting meets legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision is good

 Staff provide children with a wide range of stimulating and enjoyable experiences to help them make good progress in their learning and development. This helps to prepare children for their move to school.  Staff support children's personal, social and emotional development very well. Therefore, children are happy, settled and enjoy their time at the nursery.  Staff have good links with other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities in the nursery. Staff work very well alongside parents and the other professionals to meet their learning and development extremely well. This helps all children to make good progress.  The provider has a good understanding of their responsibility to ensure that the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are met. They have effective systems to monitor their implementation.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff talk to the babies constantly to enable them to hear a range of words and sentences. However, staff do not always provide time for them to respond back.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 enhance opportunities for babies to listen to staff talking to them and to respond to those interactions by giving them time to reply.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in all of the nursery rooms and the outside learning environment.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the deputy manager.  The inspector held a meeting and spoke with the manager and staff throughout the inspection, when appropriate.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation, checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working in the setting.  The inspector took account of the views of children, and feedback from parents.

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who attend. This is good

Children make good progress because staff provide challenging and stimulating experiences. The quality of teaching is good. Therefore, children are eager to learn and are engaged in their learning. Staff promote children's language and communication well. For example, during group time, older children explain about where different types of seeds come from by looking at the world map. Staff carry out regular observations and assessments to monitor children's progress. Staff complete the required progress check for two-year-old children sharing both these and termly reports with their parents. This helps staff to identify any gaps, delays or particular strengths in children's learning and development. Parents also share children's achievements from home with staff through written notes. This means staff can include these observations in their planning which effectively prepares children for their next stage of learning and for school.

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good

Staff provide children with many different experiences and learning opportunities outside that help to promote their development. Play equipment is stored at children's height, which encourages children of all ages to independently choose what they want to play with. Children play well together, help to tidy up and begin to learn about the needs of each other while sharing their toys. This helps children to learn to manage their behaviour and social skills. All children learn to follow good hygiene routines from an early age. They readily wash their hands before meals and after using the toilet. Meals are healthy and nutritious and cooked on-site. As a result, children begin to understand about healthy lifestyles.

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provision is good

All staff have a good understanding of how to safeguard children and know how to identify and report concerns. This promotes children's welfare. Appropriate recruitment checks for all staff ensure that they are suitable to work with children. Management monitors the performance of staff formally through regular appraisals and supervision meetings. Therefore, staff are able to attend relevant training courses to develop their skills and expertise. For example, recent training on effective planning and assessment has helped to refine how staff plan to ensure that all children make consistent progress. Regular team meetings provide everyone with the opportunity to contribute ideas and thoughts to decision making. Self-evaluation procedures are thorough and enable staff, parents and children to put forward their ideas and suggestions for improvement. This helps to raise the quality of the provision and outcomes for children.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY462360 Local authority Southwark Inspection number 949859 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 35 Number of children on roll 62 Name of provider The Beeches Nursery Group Limited Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 0208 2996897

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Setting details

First Steps Montessori Day Nursery registered in 1997 and re-registered as a limited company in 2013. It operates from East Dulwich, in the London Borough of Southwark. The nursery is open Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, for 50 weeks of the year. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education for children aged three and four years. A total of 11 staff work with the children, of these, five hold relevant National Vocational Qualifications at level 5. One member of staff holds Early Years Professional Status. The nursery follows the Montessori philosophy of teaching.

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Setting details

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

procedures set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. 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, safeguarding and child protection.

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Setting details

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Setting details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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