Little Steps Montessori Nursery

Inspection of Little Steps Montessori Nursery School The Ken Hogan Pavilion, Berrydown Sports Ground, London Road, Overton, BASINGSTOKE, Hampshire RG25 3BT

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Inadequate Leadership and management Inadequate Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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The provision is inadequate

Leaders do not fully understand their roles and responsibilities to protect and care for children. This has resulted in breaches of the statutory safeguarding and welfare requirements that impact on the quality of children's welfare and education. Leaders do not keep up to date with current early years legislation. For example, they have not made sure safeguarding policies and procedures are robust, in line with local safeguarding partnership guidance, and understood by all staff. In addition, the systems to check suitability of volunteers to work with children are not effective, so children are not always cared for by vetted adults. This means children's safety and welfare are not assured.

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The provision is inadequate

Leaders have a vision for what they want children to learn. However, they do not ensure all staff, including temporary and bank staff, have the knowledge and skills to implement an ambitious, high quality curriculum that provides all children with the challenge and engagement. Generally, learning opportunities do not build effectively on what children already know and need to know next, as staff's expectations for what children can achieve are often too low. At times, staff do not always support children to stay focused in learning, and let them quickly move on to another activity or wander around with little purpose. That said, there are times when children enjoy exploring the resources on offer, such as with building blocks. They remember to build a secure foundation on which to build their tall structures. They enjoy knocking them down and constructing them again. As they do this, they giggle and show their excitement. Staff who are with these children, share in

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The provision is inadequate

their delight by celebrating their achievements.

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need to do better?

n Leaders have not maintained compliance with the early years foundation stage requirements since the last inspection, resulting in multiple breaches. They have not followed essential safeguarding procedures to ensure children are fully protected. For example, leaders have not made sure staff have up-to-date contact details available for reporting concerns about a child's welfare. They have not ensured that staff are familiar with the full process to follow if they have concerns about the conduct of colleagues. Alongside a lack of regular safeguarding training for staff, this leaves staff uncertain about the correct steps to take to safeguard children should they have child protection concerns. n Leaders do not carry out the necessary suitability checks robustly enough to ensure any volunteers who are regularly at the setting are suitable to work with children before they commence their role and have access to children. This does

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need to do better?

not promote children's welfare. n Leaders do not monitor staff practice effectively to ensure staff understand their responsibilities. New staff and volunteers who support individual children do not

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need to do better?

3 July 2025 receive a robust induction that sufficiently equips them for their role. Furthermore, leaders do not provide staff with effective, personalised support, coaching and training to help them make continuous improvements to the quality of education provided across the setting. n Staff's understanding of the curriculum and their delivery of it is inconsistent. Staff, particularly those who work on an ad hoc basis, do not have an appropriate understanding of each child's existing knowledge or what they need to learn next. Consequently, they do not know how to link planning and teaching in a coherent, sequenced way. For example, the youngest children often spend a lot of time wandering around aimlessly with minimal staff interaction. Older children collect stones, call them 'dinosaur teeth' and count them incorrectly, but staff do not recognise how to support accurate counting or extend children's

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need to do better?

imaginative thinking. Therefore, children are not appropriately challenged, to help them reach their full potential and develop positive attitudes to learning. n Leaders and staff do not demonstrate a secure understanding of how to effectively support children with SEND. Key persons do not consistently implement the strategies designed to meet their individual needs. Leaders and key staff lack awareness of what these children have already learned and what they are capable of achieving. Furthermore, poor communication with parents of children with SEND, results in an inconsistent approach between home and the setting. This lack of a shared approach hinders children's progress and leads to widening of gaps in development, which can put them at a further disadvantage. n Despite some weakness at this setting, there are several positive aspects. For instance, children learn to understand and quickly learn to follow the routines of

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need to do better?

the day, such as independently serving their snacks, carrying their plates to the table and tidying them away afterwards. Staff's expectations are generally consistent and clear. This helps children's understand what to expect next. n Group singing and storytelling sessions are particularly enjoyed by children. They enthusiastically join in with action songs, making a real effort to remember the accompanying actions to the words in the songs. These experiences contribute to the development of children's vocabulary and support their language acquisition. n On the whole, leaders and staff want children to experience real-life opportunities to develop their understanding of the world around them. For instance, staff help children grow vegetables and plants in the setting's garden. Children proudly recall what conditions are needed for plants to grow, such as sunlight and water. Children talk enthusiastically about their plants at home and

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need to do better?

their responsibility to tend to them. This shows that when links between the setting and home happen, children's learning continues.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

There is not an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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Due date

ensure safeguarding policies and procedures, including management of allegations against staff, are regularly reviewed and updated, and that anyone working with children at the setting consistently implements them 25/07/2025

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Due date

implement robust vetting procedures to check the suitability of volunteers to work with children 25/07/2025

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Due date

ensure all staff receive an effective induction and ongoing supervision, training and support to help them develop a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, as well as targeted opportunities for professional development focused on improving the quality of children's experiences 25/07/2025

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Due date

implement effective arrangements for supporting children with SEND, with a focus on collaboration with parents and external agencies, to help all children make progress and narrow gaps in their development 25/07/2025

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Due date

improve all staff's understanding and delivery of the curriculum to ensure staff provide children with precise support that challenges and engages them in meaningful learning that builds on what they know and can do already. 25/07/2025

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY458183 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10399172 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 26 Number of children on roll 13 Name of registered person Sampson, Brenda Anne

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reference number

Telephone number 07786294574 Date of previous inspection 21 November 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Little Steps Montessori Nursery School registered in 2013. The nursery operates from The Ken Hogan Pavilion in Overton, Hampshire. It is open Monday to Thursday, from 8am to 3pm, during term time. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery follows the Montessori philosophy and EYFS. There are five staff who work with children. Of these, four hold relevant qualifications from level 3 to level 6.

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Inspection activities

n The manager and inspector completed a learning walk together of all areas of the nursery and discussed the early years curriculum. n Children spoke with the inspector during the inspection. n The inspector talked to staff at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact that this was having on children's learning n The inspector and the manager carried out a joint observation of an activity. n Parents shared their verbal and written views of the nursery with the inspector. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation and reviewed evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery.

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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

3 July 2025 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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