Mace Montessori Nursery

Inspection of Mace Montessori Nursery 47-51 Fortune Green Road, LONDON NW6 1DR

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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

Leaders and staff implement effective procedures to provide a safe and happy space for children. They create nurturing and affectionate relationships, which help children to feel settled and secure. Children confidently interact with others and make choices about what they want to do. Staff take a genuine interest in children and families and get to know them well. This helps them to tailor each child's care and learning. Staff focus on children's individual personalities and support them to develop their self-identity. For instance, staff talk to older children about their learning. They ask what their individual goals are and support them to achieve these. This helps to promote children's positive attitudes to learning. Children become highly engaged during their play and are eager to join in with activities.

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The provision is good

Leaders and staff have high expectations for all children. They provide a broad and challenging curriculum, which helps to prepare children for their next stages in learning. For example, as children progress through the nursery, they gradually learn to manage their own personal care. Children become adept at tasks such as putting on their coats and washing their hands. This puts them in good stead for starting school. Staff help children to understand what is expected of them. They praise children's positive behaviour and provide consistent reminders. Therefore, children learn to follow the rules and routines in the nursery.

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need to do better?

n Leaders have clear oversight of the nursery. They regularly review and develop the provision based around the needs of children attending. Recently, leaders have identified that many children do not experience 'messy play' at home. Therefore, they ensure that activities include a wide range of materials and textures to help stimulate children's senses as they learn. For example, babies experience the different sensations of ice and water as they make marks using frozen 'paint lollies'. n Staff monitor children's progress across all areas of their learning to identify any gaps within their development. Leaders know how to seek advice and support from other professionals if children need additional help with their learning. They describe how strong partnership working helps all children to make the best possible progress. n There is good support for children's communication and language development throughout the nursery. Staff use a wide range of words and ask meaningful

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need to do better?

questions while children play. They also enable children to hear and use other languages that they speak at home, such as when counting and singing. Children become confident communicators and express themselves effectively. n Staff skilfully incorporate mathematics into children's learning experiences. For instance, as toddlers create 'birthday cakes' from dough, staff encourage them

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need to do better?

14 August 2024 to compare sizes and count how many candles they add. This helps children to develop a good grounding in early mathematics. n The curriculum for understanding the world is strong in some aspects. For instance, staff value children's diverse cultural backgrounds and celebrate their languages and customs within the setting. They take children on daily outings and encourage them to notice features, such as the different vehicles they see. However, staff do not consistently provide a rich range of experiences to further enhance children's understanding of the natural world. n Staff understand the link between behaviour and emotional well-being. Therefore, they place a strong focus on children's emotional development. For example, staff provide pictures of facial expressions to help younger children indicate how they feel. Children learn to express their feelings in positive ways and moderate their behaviour well.

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need to do better?

n Staff promote healthy lifestyles for children. This includes daily opportunities for children to be physically active, indoors and outdoors. The meals and snacks that are provided for children are nutritious, well-balanced and freshly prepared each day. n Staff encourage parents to be actively involved in their children's learning, such as by attending events and play sessions in the nursery. They work in partnership to promote children's positive behaviour and support their development, such as toilet training. Parents speak highly of the caring and dedicated staff. They say that they are well informed about their children's experiences and learning at the nursery. n There are good systems to support and supervise staff, which promotes a low staff turnover and consistently good practice. Staff are knowledgeable about their roles, the curriculum and the children. They speak positively about the opportunities for training, which help to further enhance their skills.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n develop the curriculum for understanding the world to further enhance children's understanding and exploration of the natural world.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY481989 Local authority Camden Inspection number 10355260 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 43 Name of registered person Busy Bees Nurseries Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 020 8819 5358 Date of previous inspection 22 November 2018

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Information about this early years setting

Mace Montessori Nursery registered in 2014 and is located in the London Borough of Camden. It is one of a chain of nurseries that are operated by Busy Bees. The nursery employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of whom, seven staff hold early years qualifications, two staff hold qualified teacher status and five staff are qualified at level 3. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 8am to 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken this into account in their evaluation of the provider. n One of the centre managers showed the inspector around the childcare premises and explained about the curriculum and how the provision is organised. n The inspector observed the quality of the education and considered the impact on children's learning. This includes a joint observation with one of the managers. n Leaders met with the inspector to discuss matters such as recruitment and staff supervision. They ensured that relevant documents were available for the inspector to view. n Parents, staff and children shared their views and experiences with the inspector at appropriate times during the inspection.

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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

14 August 2024 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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