West Acre Montessori School

West Acre Montessori School The Old Chapel, East Walton, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, PE32 1PU

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23 June 2015 8 October 2008

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Good 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Good 2

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

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

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

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

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

The setting meets legal requirements for early years settings

p.1

This provision is good

 Children are interested and motivated to participate in activities. Staff have a secure knowledge of how children learn and develop. Children make good progress given their starting points and capabilities.  Partnerships with parents are well-established and effective in ensuring children benefit from a joined-up approach. Staff regularly share information regarding children's progress, their next steps in learning and how parents can support their children's learning and development at home.  Staff are good role models and have high expectations of children's behaviour. Children display high levels of self-control. They are respectful of each other and the environment. They are confident and staff support their growing independence well.  Leadership is strong. The manager has good systems in place to review the effectiveness of practice and the children's progress. There is a clear training plan to

p.1

This provision is good

support staff to develop and acquire skills to support the needs of the children who attend.  Arrangements for safeguarding children are strong. Staff fully understand their role to protect children from harm, and know the procedures to follow should they have any concerns about a child's welfare.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff do not always seize opportunities to promote children's learning and deeper thinking skills to the highest level.  Strategies to build on and develop the good teaching practice further are not yet fully established.

p.1

What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

p.2

What the setting needs to do to improve further

 enhance the already good teaching further, for example, by further developing interactions with children to include questions to ignite their curiosity and imagination  provide more opportunities for staff to reflect on good practice, for example, by enabling staff to observe and learn from each other and improve the learning opportunities for children to make rapid progress.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching and the impact this has on children's learning both inside and outdoors.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector spoke with staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection, and held a meeting with the manager.  The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children, and reviewed evidence of self-evaluation.  The inspector looked at children's learning records, planning and assessment records, and a range of documentation including a sample of policies and procedures.  The inspector took into account the views of parents spoken to on the day and their written feedback.

p.2

who attend. This is good

Teaching is good. Qualified staff have a secure knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage, and how children learn and develop. Children choose from a range of activities which cover all areas of learning and development. They are highly engaged in their activities. There is a keen focus to support children's early reading, writing and mathematical development. Children enjoy playing games with staff, such as I spy, which promote recognition of phonic sounds in words. Staff skilfully adapt the degree of challenge using their good knowledge of individual children and their precise stage of development. Children acquire good skills to support their future education. Some children make rapid progress in their early reading and writing development. However, staff do not always extend children's learning to the highest level. When children are building sandcastles, staff do not encourage them to think for themselves about why the

p.3

who attend. This is good

sandcastle will not turn out. Staff observe children as they play, and make accurate assessments about their progress to identify their next steps in leaning.

p.3

good

Friendly and caring staff ensure settling-in arrangements are flexible to meet the needs of individual children when they start. They gather meaningful information from parents to identify what children can do and use this to begin to plan for children's next steps in learning. Staff promote children's independence at every opportunity. Staff teach them how to keep themselves and each other safe. They take responsibility for tidying up their toys when they have finished with them and know about road safety on outings. Staff establish good relationships with the schools children will attend, and invite teachers to the setting to meet the children and talk about school life. Consequently, children are confident and emotionally well prepared for the next stage in their learning journey.

p.3

provision is good

The manager is passionate in her drive to improve children's learning opportunities and enjoyment at the setting. She understands the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and has high expectations of staff. She follows stringent recruitment procedures to ensure adults working with the children are suitable. She values targeted training opportunities to develop her staff's skills. She is very reflective and discusses regularly with staff where they can improve practice. She conducts observations of staff practice to identify areas for improvement. However, this is not yet fully embedded so that all staff observe each other. This means opportunities to share good and better practice, in order to learn from each other and improve learning experiences for the children, are not maximised. The manager has a precise understanding of the progress children make because she has clear and effective procedures in place to review the assessments staff

p.3

provision is good

make. Parental feedback is very positive. Parents typically express that their children are happy and make very good progress.

p.3

Setting details

Unique reference number 254343 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 866870 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 29 Name of provider West Acre Montessori School Partnership Date of previous inspection 8 October 2008 Telephone number 01760 337316

p.4

Setting details

West Acre Montessori School was registered in 1993. It employs five members of staff, all of whom hold professional early years qualifications at level 2 and above. The manager and deputy manager hold Montessori teacher qualifications. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday from 8.30am until 1pm and 8.30am until 3pm Tuesday to Thursday during term time only. It offers funded early education to eligible two-, three- and four- year-old children. The school follows the Montessori ethos.

p.4

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.

p.4

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.

p.4

Setting details

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’.

p.5

Setting details

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

p.5