Eastbourne Montessori School

Eastbourne Montessori School United Reform Church, Watts Lane, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 1NP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 6 July 2017 27 June 2014

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This inspection: Good 2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2

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This provision is good

 The well-qualified manager and enthusiastic staff effectively use the Montessori teaching method to support children's learning well. They provide a challenging and stimulating environment, and consistently encourage children to lead their own play and learning. Children are well motivated and make good progress from their developmental starting points.  Staff are positive and calm. They get to know children very well and help them to form strong relationships. Children are happy and secure, and enjoy their time at the setting.  The manager and staff work well to effectively evaluate the quality of the provision and their practice. They actively include parents and other professionals in the process. They make continuous improvements to the quality of children's care and learning.  The manager and staff assess children's development closely and effectively monitor the progress of individual and groups of children. They quickly identify and address any

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This provision is good

gaps in learning and plan challenging next steps to encourage further progress.  Parent partnerships are effective. Staff regularly share children's development records and give parents helpful ideas for how they can support children's learning at home.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 At times, staff do not consistently follow up behaviour issues in the best way, so children can recognise how their behaviour can affect others.  Staff do not fully support children to understand the importance of healthy eating and how it benefits their physical well-being.

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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

 provide children with more consistent support for their behaviour to help them fully understand how their actions can affect others  provide further support for children to fully understand the importance of healthy eating on their well-being.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed teaching practices and the impact on children's learning.  The inspector held discussions with the manager, staff, children and parents.  The inspector read some of the setting's documentation, including the safeguarding policy and procedures.  The inspector sampled children's development information and records.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager and discussed children's play, learning and progress.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The ambitious manager closely monitors and evaluates the effectiveness of the environment and ensures that it meets the needs of children successfully. She confidently leads her staff team by example and consistently models good practice. She provides effective support and guidance to continuously improve teaching. The manager and staff make regular improvements to support children's good outcomes. For example, they have improved outdoor learning, such as offering children more opportunities to plant and look after a variety of flowers. Safeguarding is effective. The manager and staff attend regular safeguarding training and have a thorough understanding of how to deal with any child protection concerns, including recognising extremism.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

The manager and staff track children's engagement in learning throughout the day and accurately record their interests. They use this information successfully to engage children in varied learning. Staff consistently encourage children to choose their own activities and skilfully know when to provide further challenge. For example, as children enjoy drawing plants, staff teach them about the parts of a plant and introduce new language, such as 'stamen'. Staff support children's early literacy development very well. For instance, as children identify pictures of different birds, staff encourage them to recognise their starting letter sounds and find the written name card to match each bird.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children are very confident and independent. They enjoy preparing their own snacks, carefully using knives to cut fruit into pieces. Children are respectful of the nursery equipment and make sure that they reset each activity tray after they finish, so that it is ready for the next child. They enjoy daily physical play and exercise, such as playing in the well-resourced outdoor space. Children develop positive social skills and make trusting friendships. They happily include each other in their play and enjoy chatting together about their lives and interests. For example, children enthusiastically talk about their favourite colours, deciding which colour peg to use next as they make patterns on a board.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children are very eager learners, who are consistently willing to try new challenges. They enjoy choosing from the wide range of activity trays and concentrate well. For example, children carefully explore magnets and organise objects by their magnetic qualities. Children know they can ask for help and confidently collect 'help cards' to show staff when they would like help with their activity. They count confidently and easily match written numbers to quantities. Children communicate well and use language to express themselves successfully and guide their play. For instance, they take on the role of teachers in their role play and pretend to read stories to the class. Children quickly gain the skills needed for the next stage in their learning and for school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY387557 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 1068922 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 16 Number of children on roll 20 Name of registered person Lucy Claire Forrester

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 27 June 2014 Telephone number 07946 356271 or 01323430981

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reference number

Eastbourne Montessori School registered in 2008. It operates from within the United Reformed Church in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The nursery is open between 8.30am and 3pm each weekday, during term time only. The nursery employs three staff, one of whom holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 4 and two at level 3. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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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.

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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.

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reference number

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reference number

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

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reference number

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

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