Orchard Cottage Montessori Nursery Ltd

Orchard Cottage Montessori Nursery Ltd Montessori Nursery, Orchard Cottage, 120 Wivenhoe Road, Alresford, COLCHESTER, CO7 8AQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 9 September 2015 Not applicable

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Staff have a superb knowledge of how children learn. They provide highly stimulating and creative activities that are tailored and extremely focused on the individual needs of each child. All children make excellent progress given their starting points and capabilities.  Staff have very high expectations of children's behaviour. Children show high levels of self-control in activities and are very capable of negotiating the use of toys and their roles within activities.  Children are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage in their learning, including school. Staff have a sharp focus on ensuring children are self-sufficient and can attend to their self-care needs unaided. Children also help to set up and tidy away their own activities with remarkable confidence.  Staff form excellent partnerships with parents. They highly value parents as their children's first educators and involve them in every aspect of their children's learning.

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This provision is outstanding

Parents are extremely well informed, support their children's learning at home and take an active role in assessments of their children's development.  The highly qualified and experienced manager, who is also the provider, is very committed to providing children with an excellent quality of care and education. She is very focused on supporting staff to achieve high levels of qualifications and skills. Staff attend further training and regular meetings to identify areas for further improvement.

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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

 continue to build upon the already excellent opportunities children have for learning when outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and outdoors and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the nursery manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the nursery manager and provider. She looked at relevant documentation, such as the nursery's self-evaluation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery.  The inspector took account of the views of a small selection of parents spoken to during the inspection.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective as staff have a robust knowledge of the action to take if they have concerns about a child. Risk assessments and procedures, such as the use of mobile phones and attending to accidents, are very thorough and promote children's safety extremely well. The manager's checking of children's progress is sharply focused in identifying gaps as soon as they emerge so that effective support can be implemented swiftly. Staff form highly successful partnerships with local schools and other early years settings. They share a wealth of information to further provide children with opportunities to make the best possible progress. The manager meticulously evaluates each aspect of the nursery superbly and sets highly challenging and achievable targets for improvement. She has recently identified that the garden could be enhanced even further. She is keen to provide more sheltered areas for play in all weathers and separate areas for

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

The well-qualified staff get to know the children extremely well as individuals. They regularly observe the children and complete thorough, robust and precise assessments of their capabilities. Children develop high levels of mathematical skills. They are able to identify different lengths of objects and use excellent mathematical language across a wide range of activities. Children develop high levels of understanding of the world around them. Staff provide an excellent range of resources that promote children's problem- solving skills. Children use resources, including funnels and measuring jugs, to manipulate and determine the forms of substances, such as water.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Children form exceptionally caring bonds with their key person, other staff and their peers. Staff provide a very calm, relaxing environment for the children where they develop very high levels of confidence and self-esteem. Children show they are extremely happy and settled in the nursery. The environment is highly stimulating and children are provided with the freedom to develop their own ideas and follow their own imaginations in activities. Children develop excellent social skills. They use superb manners and engage in social interactions with ease. Staff demonstrate a sharp focus on developing children's knowledge of their own safety. For example, they support children to learn how to safely carry resources across the room, use scissors with care and to sensibly tidy up any spilt resources. The premises is very well secured and monitored by staff to ensure that children are kept safe. Children have an excellent range of opportunities for physical

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

exercise and fresh air, including yoga lessons and sports activities in the garden.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

All children make very high levels of progress in their learning given their starting points and capabilities. Staff use precise assessments to identify children who are exceeding expectations beyond the curriculum. They have ensured that these children continue to flourish by sourcing more advanced literacy activities to further extend their reading skills.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY478002 Local authority Essex Inspection number 1021701 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 17 Name of provider Orchard Cottage Montessori Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01206 825607

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Setting details

Orchard Cottage Montessori Nursery Ltd was registered in 2014. The nursery employs five members of childcare staff. Of these, four hold appropriate early years qualifications at levels 3, 4 or 6. The provider, who is also the manager, holds Qualified Teacher Status. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, term time only. Morning sessions are from 9am until 12.15pm, Monday to Friday. Afternoon sessions are from 12.45pm to 4pm, Monday to Thursday. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year- old children. Staff support children's learning by following the Montessori philosophy and principles alongside traditional teaching methods.

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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

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Setting details

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