Glendon Farm Montessori

Inspection of Glendon Farm Montessori The Haybarn, Glendon Lodge Farm, Glendon, Kettering NN14 1QF

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision is good

Children feel happy and settled in the nurturing setting. Staff encourage children to be independent from an early age. On arrival to the setting children know the routines for taking their coat and shoes off and putting their bags away. Children help each other and show care for their friends, inviting them to come and play with them.

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The provision is good

Children have the opportunity to access the outdoor area at all times. They enjoy going to forest school. Here, children can be active, climb trees safely, use rope swings, dig in the sandpit and explore the natural world around them. Children feel safe and secure and have the opportunity to take managed risks while being well supervised by staff. Children rush excitedly over to a staff member who has found an animal in a trap outside. They talk about how the mouse might be feeling in the trap and agree on a place to release it safely.

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The provision is good

Children engage with activities that have been planned from their interests. They look excitedly at a bird's nest with a member of staff. Staff provide books for children to look at, with photographs of different birds and their nests in. Children talk about how they think the nest was built and compare different types of nests. Later, children make bird feeders and talk about what birds like to eat. Children are motivated to learn and sustain their interest in activities for lengthy periods for their age.

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need to do better?

n Before children start at the setting, staff complete home visits to talk to the children's parents about their likes, dislikes and interests. Staff find out sensitively from parents about the experiences children have had at home and plan to broaden these. Children visit a local care home to build relationships with members of the local community. This helps children to learn about people who are different from themselves. n Children enjoy eating their snack and lunch outside, using tree stumps as tables. Staff encourage children to take responsibility for recycling, sorting unwanted food into recycling caddies. They talk to children about foods that are healthy and unhealthy. Inside, children explore making fruit tea with china teapots and teacups. They talk about what the tea smells like and how it tastes. This supports children to learn about a healthy lifestyle. n Staff provide children with good-quality interactions. They are attentive to their

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need to do better?

needs and provide them with more resources if they need them in their play. Staff talk to children about what they are learning. However, sometimes staff ask too many questions in quick succession when interacting with children. This means children do not always have enough time to be curious and explore

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need to do better?

10 February 2020 independently to consolidate their learning. n Children have opportunities to develop their skills in early number. For example, when making 'stone soup' outside in the mud kitchen, staff encourage children to think about how many scoops of sand they put in. Children use mathematical language such as 'heavy' and 'full' when using a pulley and bucket to collect sand in. Children negotiate roles and help each other, holding the bucket for each other and scooping sand in carefully. n Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents say they know where their child is working in their development and what their next steps are. Parents feel able to speak to the staff if they have any concerns. Staff use an app to send parents photographs and comments about activities their children have completed. They provide suggestions for further activities parents could complete with their children at home.

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need to do better?

n Staff are given regular opportunities to attend training to further their professional development. Managers have recently provided training on how to use tools safely in the forest school to develop staff's confidence. The manager completes observations regularly and provides feedback to staff about how they can improve their practice. Leaders and managers are introducing peer-on-peer observations to provide further opportunities for staff to improve their practice. n Managers use funding for children in receipt of early years pupil premium effectively. They purchase resources to extend children's thinking skills in early literacy and their number skills. This prepares children for starting school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff have a secure understanding of how to keep children safe. They know the signs and symptoms of abuse and how they would report concerns to the designated safeguarding lead within the setting or local agencies. Staff have completed safeguarding training and receive regular information from senior staff to ensure their knowledge is always updated. Children are supervised well. Staff are deployed effectively in both the indoor and outdoor areas of the setting. When using the nursery's forest school site, staff complete a risk assessment checklist to check the area is safe for the children to use.

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should:

n allow children time to explore and be curious to consolidate their learning before staff ask further questions during interactions.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY548513 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 10130791 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Sessional day care Age range of children 1 to 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 48 Name of registered person Siddington, Grace Elizabeth

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reference number

Telephone number 07936822670 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Glendon Farm Montessori registered in 2017. It is located in Glendon, Northamptonshire. The nursery employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, six hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and above. The nursery opens all year round except bank holidays and family holidays. Sessions are from 8.30am until 4.30pm on Monday to Thursday, and 8.30am until 12.45pm on Fridays. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four- year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector and the manager carried out a learning walk around the setting together to help the inspector understand how the curriculum is organised. n The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager. n The inspector spoke with staff about how they assess children's development and plan for the next steps in children's learning. n The inspector spoke to children during the inspection. n The inspector spoke to a number of parents during the inspection and took account of their views. She also viewed written feedback from parents.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection 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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Inspection activities

10 February 2020 regulates and inspects to 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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