Rayners Lane Montessori

Inspection of Rayners Lane Montessori Beacon Centre, Scott Crescent, Harrow HA2 0TY

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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

Staff greet children on arrival with big smiles and hugs, to help the, feel settled and safe. As children enter the setting, staff happily chat with parents and children. Children enter eagerly, and staff support anyone who needs extra comfort and time to settle. Staff support children to manage their own behaviour by using timers in their play. This helps them to understand waiting and taking turns. Children quickly engage in planned activities, and the resources staff provide. Babies and children explore and make choices in their learning. Staff skilfully seize several opportunities to enhance children's learning. Babies enjoy rolling balls to each other, and build towers with using construction blocks, while older children delight as they play with balls, hoops and tyres to crate obstacle courses and join in with parachute games. Staff successfully foster children's imaginations through well-planned activities.

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The provision is good

Children eagerly engage in role play, such as pretending to make sushi with chopsticks and play food, which demonstrates their keen enthusiasm for learning.

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The provision is good

The curriculum is ambitious and especially effective for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Leaders prioritise outdoor learning to ensure children are prepared for school and have fun while doing so. They use additional funding well and work with external agencies to provide targeted support. This ensures all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress and are ready for the next stage of their education.

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need to do better?

n Leaders and staff effectively gather information from parents about what children already know and can do when they first start. Staff use this to inform their own initial assessments, creating a personalised learning focus for each child. They continuously monitor for any gaps in learning, sharing this information with parents and seeking support from outside agencies when necessary. This proactive approach ensures that any gaps are quickly closed, and that all children make good progress. n Leaders are clear in their roles and responsibilities. They have effective processes in place for self-evaluation and are aware of where they need to make any improvements. Staff comment that they feel well supported in their work. They have regular opportunities to meet with leaders to review their practice. Leaders set targets and provide high-quality training opportunities to help staff to improve their practice even further. This ensures staff constantly enhance

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need to do better?

their skills and knowledge. n Overall, Staff recognise the importance of promoting children's communication and language skills and focus closely on this. Staff model single words and narrate young children's play. While they introduce and expand on new vocabularies, such as 'dissolve and invisible" as older children mix oil, flour and

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need to do better?

26 August 2025 salt and sugar in cups of water. Although, there are some occasions when staff do not give children time to formulate a response to the questions they ask. This means some children do not have the opportunity to fully engage in conversations and share their knowledge. n Staff identify opportunities effectively to introduce mathematics during children's daily experiences and play. Babies are exposed to numbers in the environment and during singing. Staff effectively use everyday activities to promote mathematical understanding. For example, during an ice-breaking activity, toddlers demonstrate early problem-solving and critical thinking skills as staff encourage them to use a range of words, such as "big" and "small," "heavy" and "light," as they use different tools to release small plastic animals from a frozen blocks of ice. n Staff support children to learn to manage their emotions and read stories linked

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need to do better?

to managing their different feelings. This supports children to regulate their emotions well. Staff frequently offer praise, which helps children to develop their self-confidence and self-esteem well. n While staff generally support children's independence, there are times when they do not consistently reinforce children's self-care skills. For example, children are not consistently given appropriate utensils during mealtimes, and staff do not always help them with key hygiene routines, such as managing a runny nose, which does not support their understanding of personal health and independence. n The nursery supports children to develop a deep understanding about similarities and differences between themselves and others. Children are proud of who they are and their unique backgrounds. They learn about cultures, festivals and celebrations that are important to themselves and others. Children talk about

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need to do better?

what makes them unique and discuss differences being positive. Children are prepared for life in modern Britain.

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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 support staff to recognise when to give children more time to express their knowledge, think through ideas and respond to questions asked n develop staff practice further to help children learn how to manage all aspects of their personal hygiene consistently well.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2734852 Local authority Harrow Inspection number 10399771 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 64 Name of registered person Rayners Lane Montessori Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 02089086032 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Rayners Lane Nursery re-registred in 2023. It operates from the london borough of Harrow. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm and operates for 51 weeks of the year. The provider receives funding to offer free early education for children aged two, three and four years. There are 13 staff, of whom seven hold relevant qualifications from level 2 to level 3.

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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 Staff and children communicated with the inspector during the inspection. 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 carried out a joint observation of a planned activity with the manager. n Parents shared their views of the nursery with the inspector. n The inspector had a long discussion with the senior management and sampled documentation to demonstrate the suitability of staff.

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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

26 August 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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