Chagford Montessori Nursery School

Chagford Montessori Nursery School Montessori School, Moor Downes, Moor Park, Chagford, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ13 8BX

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30 June 2016 4 November 2015

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Requires Improvement

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Good 2

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1

p.1

This provision is good

 The provider implements rigorous recruitment and vetting procedures, and conducts thorough inductions, to ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children and are knowledgeable about their responsibilities.  Staff make regular and precise assessments of children's learning, which they generally use effectively to plan interesting and challenging activities. All children make good progress from their individual starting points.  Children have great fun when exploring the incredibly stimulating and well-resourced learning environments, indoors and outdoors. They are extremely motivated and interested in their chosen activities, and also show great enthusiasm and engagement during adult-led activities. Children develop an excellent attitude towards learning.  Staff are very caring and build extremely strong relationships with all children. Children settle in quickly and develop strong friendships with staff and their peers.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff do not always make the best use of planned and spontaneous learning opportunities to provide additional challenge for older children, to help them make even more progress.  The manager does not monitor the progress of groups of children in close detail to recognise any patterns in learning and to inform the future organisation of activities and provision.

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

 make full use of activities and spontaneous opportunities to consistently provide good challenge for older children, to further extend their learning  extend monitoring systems to track the progress of groups of children more effectively, to help identify and target any gaps and patterns in their learning, and to contribute towards the review of the success of planned activities and provision.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed the play spaces and resources, and observed children during their self-chosen play and adult-led activities.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the provider.  The inspector took account of the views of staff, children and their parents through discussion.  The inspector held a meeting with the provider at an appropriate time during the inspection.  The inspector sampled documentation, including children's learning records, activity planning, and recruitment and vetting records.

p.2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

Since the last inspection, the provider and staff team have worked hard to strengthen the safeguarding procedures. They all have a strong understanding of child protection issues and the process to follow if they have concerns about a child's welfare. Safeguarding is effective. Staff receive good support and coaching from the provider. They make good use of newly gained strategies and ideas to strengthen the quality of teaching. For example, having recently visited a local setting, staff are eager to try out their ideas, such as increasing the range of resources that support 'practical life' skills outside. The provider shows a strong commitment to making improvements and effectively evaluates the overall setting. This has a positive impact on outcomes for children.

p.3

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff have good partnerships with parents and other settings that children attend. They routinely share detailed information with them about children's learning, such as children's next steps in learning and upcoming 'sounds of the week'. This helps parents to extend children's development at home, and enables consistency in their care and learning. Overall, staff support all children to develop good communication and language skills. For example, they teach children the meaning of new words, such as 'x-ray' and 'extinct'. Children are confident communicators, and happily initiate discussion with their friends and staff to share their thoughts and ideas. Generally, staff follow children's interests well to increase their learning, such as encouraging a child to mark on the floor how far a toy car travels so he can try to 'beat' the distance next time.

p.3

Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Children demonstrate superb behaviour, cooperation and respect for others. For instance, during whole group times, all children sit patiently and listen with rapt attention to their friends, who confidently show and talk about their items from home. Children play together exceptionally well, happily working together to solve problems. For example, two children listen to and follow each other's ideas when deciding how best to carry a large box between them. This helps children to develop excellent social skills so that they form very good friendships, and play and interact extremely well with others. Staff use routine tasks very well to extend children's independence from a young age. For example, children set up the water tray with little support from staff.

p.3

Outcomes for children are good

Children gain confidence in their abilities, and are active and independent learners. They have fun in their play and acquire good skills in preparation for school. Staff routinely support children to develop early reading skills. For instance, they help them to find their name during self-registration, which older children manage with ease.

p.3

Setting details

Unique reference number EY359539 Local authority Devon Inspection number 1032379 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 37 Name of registered person Chagford Montessori Nursery School

p.4

reference number

Date of previous inspection 4 November 2015 Telephone number 01647 433676

p.4

reference number

Chagford Montessori Nursery operates from the town of Chagford, in Devon. The nursery registered under the current management in July 2007 and follows the Montessori method of teaching. The nursery is open Monday to Thursday from 9am to 4pm, during school term times. In addition to the proprietors, three members of staff work with the children, all of whom hold qualifications at level 3 or above. The setting receives funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

p.4

reference number

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

reference number

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

reference number

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 reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.5

reference number

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our website for news, information and updates at www.ofsted.gov.uk/user.

p.5

reference number

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

p.5