Summertown Montessori Nursery

Summertown Montessori Nurseries Summertown Church Hall, Portland Road, OXFORD, OX2 7EZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10 June 2015 19 November 2014

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Previous inspection: Requires Improvement How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Requires improvement The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Requires improvement The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Requires improvement The setting does not meet legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision requires improvement. It is not yet good because:

 Although the staff are very hard working, they do not always ensure that they can see all children in order to meet their needs. As a result, sometimes they do not respond in a timely manner when children are upset.  The staffing arrangements in place are not fully effective. Key staff who are responsible for individual children do not ensure that they identify and share ways to meet all children’s individual needs.  There have been changes in the planning and assessment arrangements. Managers do not yet use the information gathered to assess progress across the groups of children to identify any gaps and address concerns at an early stage.

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It has the following strengths

 The nursery now has a wide range of outdoor resources and activities which reflect all areas of learning. These provide children with exciting choices and good levels of challenge.  Staff have worked hard to provide children with a choice of mark making and writing resources throughout all areas of the nursery to support children’s early literacy skills.  The manager and her team have put highly effective arrangements in place to teach children about positive behaviour. Children learn to communicate positively and develop social skills that support the next stage in their learning.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage the provider must:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 enhance the key person arrangements to ensure that every child’s learning and care is tailored to meet their individual needs, with particular regard to ensuring that staff use strategies to help individual children catch up in their learning  deploy staff effectively to ensure that children’s needs are met and that staff are aware of when children need support or are upset.

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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

 further develop the new tracking systems to assess the learning and progress of specific groups of children and plan for their needs accordingly.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's activities inside the nursery and in the garden to assess the quality of teaching.  The inspector held a management meeting with the nursery owner and manager to assess the leadership and management.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the deputy manager.  The inspector spoke to parents and looked at questionnaires to seek their opinions.  The inspector looked at a range of documents including records of children's progress.  The inspector held discussions with children, staff and managers.

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who attend. This requires improvement

The quality of teaching continues to improve, but is still variable at times. Staff observe children as they play to record their progress. They use this information to plan interesting activities for children. However, they do not sufficiently challenge and extend all children's development, particularly those in need of additional support. For example, they do not use strategies or resources such as signs or symbols to help children understand, communicate or concentrate. Therefore, most children progress well, but some make slower progress. Nevertheless, staff appear willing to tackle these weaknesses and they are enthusiastic to drive improvement. Children are imaginative and thrive on role-play and make believe games. Staff extend children’s learning by providing a good range of writing resources for children to write about or draw their ideas and thoughts. Parents say that their children are developing an interest in letters, sounds, words and writing because

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who attend. This requires improvement

of the enhanced provision for literacy. These improvements mean that children develop useful skills in readiness for starting school.

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requires improvement

Parents and children arrive to a very warm welcome from staff and the nursery has a very positive atmosphere throughout the day. Although there is a key person system in place, it is not always fully effective. This is because key staff identify children’s needs, but do not ensure that all other staff understand how to support each child’s needs throughout the routine. Furthermore, staff do not always deploy themselves well as they do not notice when some children need support. Nevertheless, there are caring relationships between adults and children, which helps children to feel secure and settled. They particularly enjoy exploring and investigating outside as they benefit from fresh air and exercise. This supports their physical well-being. Children are independent and confident, as they are familiar with the routines.

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provision requires improvement

The nursery owner has a sound understanding of the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Leaders and managers have worked hard to address weaknesses identified at previous Ofsted visits, with support from outside agencies. The newly employed manager and deputy are experienced, well-qualified and enthusiastic. There are clear recruitment, induction and staff supervision arrangements in place. Staff benefit from advice from consultancies and local authority advisors and attend a range of training for their professional development. The improvements to the observations, assessments and planning systems impact positively on the progress most children make. However, although managers oversee the educational programmes they do not assess progress across the different groups of children. This means staff do not know if some children make less progress than others. Parents say they are very happy with the

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provision requires improvement

changes and improvements at the nursery. They particularly appreciate improvements to the range of outdoor activities and the good behaviour management.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY408460 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 1006254 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 18 Name of provider Montessori North Oxford Limited Date of previous inspection 19 November 2014 Telephone number 07720 715 021

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Setting details

Summertown Montessori Nursery registered under Montessori North Oxford Ltd in 2010. It is one of two nurseries in the North Oxford area. The nursery operates from a church hall in the Summertown area of Oxford. The nursery is open on weekdays all year, except for a week at Easter and two weeks at Christmas. The main sessions are available from 8am until 3.15pm. An early years after-school provision is available from 3pm until 5.30pm. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four. The nursery employs five members of staff. Each member of staff holds relevant qualifications ranging from Level 2 to Level 6.

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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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