Great Beginnings Montessori Nursery School

Inspection of Great Beginnings Montessori Nursery School The Advent Centre, 37 Brendon Street, LONDON W1H 5JE

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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 Good

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The provision is good

Children arrive excited to attend nursery. They are greeted by caring staff who welcome them into a safe, nurturing and calm environment. Children form strong bonds with their key person and develop friendships with their peers. Younger children who are settling in are supported well and offered reassurance to build on their emotional well-being. Children demonstrate their independence by removing their coats, and take responsibility for their belongings. Older children find their own named pegs and sound out the letters, which builds on their early literacy skills. Children flourish in the well-organised environment. They independently select resources and show a positive attitude to their learning. Younger children increase their fine motor skills as they paint at the easel and build with bricks. Older children pour water from jugs, persevere with shape puzzles and accurately paint flags from different countries. Staff engage in children's learning and provide challenge, which

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The provision is good

increases their thinking skills. For example, children keenly respond to a request to change the calendar. They work together to sequence the days of the week and find the correct number to represent the date. Children count and add number tiles to the board from one to 100. They enjoy receiving praise and are proud of their achievements and behave well.

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need to do better?

n The manager and staff plan a well-sequenced curriculum and follow the Montessori philosophy. They get to know children well from the start and build on their individual needs. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of what children need to know and learn next. They use observations to inform their planning, and provide activities to help children achieve their next steps in their learning. Regular assessments ensure that any gaps are addressed quickly, and that all children make good progress from their starting points. n Staff have high expectations for all children and actively promote their language and communication skills. Staff engage children in meaningful conversations, enthusiastically share stories and introduce new vocabulary. Children benefit from extra-curricular music sessions, where they learn new songs and repetition. Staff challenge older children to learn tricky poetry and introduce props. Children

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need to do better?

confidently demonstrate what they learned and eagerly continue to learn new verses. n Parents speak very highly of the nursery manager and staff, who they describe as caring, consistent and passionate. They acknowledge that their children are very settled and enjoy attending. Parents share that partnership working is effective and that communication is good. Daily updates are received at collection time, and staff regularly share next steps and ideas to continue learning at home. Parents state their children have become more confident,

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need to do better?

30 March 2023 independent and have extended their communication skills since attending the nursery. n Staff plan daily activities to support children's physical development. They use the indoor space to extend children's balance and coordination using obstacle courses and organised games. Staff take children on trips to the local park, where they have space to run and develop their spatial awareness. Children bring packed lunches to nursery and learn about the importance of healthy eating. Staff engage children in conversations about oral health and follow good hygiene practices. n The nursery promotes a culture of respect, diversity and inclusion through the staff team, resources, books and activities. Children behave well. Staff celebrate different festivals and welcome parents' participation in sharing their cultural traditions. Many children who attend the nursery speak English as an additional language. However, children are not consistently supported to use their home

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need to do better?

languages alongside learning English. n The manager is passionate about her role in providing good-quality care and education. She has robust recruitment procedures in place to ensure that all staff are suitable. All staff receive regular supervision, which ensures that they understand their role and responsibilities. Staff state the manager is supportive to their well-being and manages their workload. The manager evaluates practice and provides opportunities for all staff to build on their continued professional development. However, views are not sought from parents to help identify further improvements.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff understand their role and responsibility in keeping children safe. They carry out risk assessments and daily checks to ensure that the environment is free of hazards and safe for children to play. Staff are deployed effectively around the nursery and ensure that children are well supervised. All staff have completed safeguarding training including wider issues, such as radicalisation. They recognise the signs and symptoms of potential abuse and know the procedures to follow if they have any concerns regarding a child's welfare. The manager follows safer recruitment procedures and ensures that all staff are suitable to work with children.

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should:

n support children to use their home languages alongside learning English to understand what makes them unique n strengthen ways to include parents' views in the evaluation of the nursery to make further improvements.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY301187 Local authority Westminster Inspection number 10264946 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 Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 70 Number of children on roll 32 Name of registered person Innes, Wendy Heather

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reference number

Telephone number 020 72581066 Date of previous inspection 30 June 2017

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Information about this early years setting

Great Beginnings Montessori Nursery School re-registered in 2005. The nursery is located in Marylebone, in the London Borough of Westminster. The nursery is open Monday to Friday, from 8.30am to 3pm, during term time only. There are nine members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years or Montessori qualifications from level 2 to level 6. The provider is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four years. The nursery school follows the Montessori educational philosophy.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the nursery received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the setting. n The manager and inspector completed a learning walk together and discussed the curriculum. n The inspector carried out a joint observation of an activity with the manager. n The inspector observed the interaction between staff and children and listened to children's views. n Parents and staff had discussions with the inspector and shared their views. n The inspector held discussions with the manager about nursery practices and procedures and looked at relevant documentation.

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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

30 March 2023 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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