Whetstone Montessori Nursery

Whetstone Montessori Nursery

Unique reference number (URN): 2769729 Address: Union Church, 1 Northiam, London, N12 7ET Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 23/01/2024 Registers: EYR Registered person: LIVING MONTESSORI LIMITED

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make good progress from their starting points across the areas of learning, particularly in communication and language. Younger children develop strong listening and attention skills as they enjoy stories and join in with familiar phrases. Older children speak with increasing confidence, using a growing range of vocabulary that is introduced through teaching and play. Children build secure foundations for future learning, including early literacy and mathematical understanding, as they count, match and recognise patterns during puzzles and practical activities.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop their understanding of the world through meaningful, first-hand experiences. For example, following a mushroom hunt, children confidently name different types and describe how they change over time, demonstrating their developing recall and understanding. During music sessions, children listen attentively, follow rhythms and join in with songs, strengthening their memory, coordination and language skills.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language, make progress. Staff support communication through modelling language, repetition and visual prompts. However, children who speak English as an additional language do not always have consistent opportunities to use their home languages to further support their understanding and help them express themselves more fully.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children behave appropriately and follow established routines with growing confidence. Leaders have created a positive environment where expectations for behaviour are clearly understood and reinforced consistently. Children show kindness towards one another, take turns and cooperate during play. They respond well to staff, who use calm explanations and gentle redirection to support children in understanding boundaries and developing social awareness. This means that children form positive relationships and feel secure.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children have positive attitudes to learning and engage well in a range of activities. They are motivated and keen to participate. However, daily routines are not always organised to fully support sustained engagement. For example, children are sometimes asked to tidy away or move on too quickly, which reduce opportunities for them to concentrate, persevere and extend their learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders promote the importance of attendance and consistent routines, helping children to settle quickly and participate fully. Staff consider children's age, stage of development and individual needs to support their behaviour and engagement. Overall, children develop appropriate attitudes and behaviours for their stage of development.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children's welfare is supported effectively. Leaders establish a safe, welcoming environment where children's individual needs are understood and met. Staff support children's emotional wellbeing, particularly during transitions, such as settling in, helping them to feel secure and develop a sense of belonging. Children form positive relationships with staff, who respond sensitively to their needs and provide reassurance when required.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children develop an appropriate understanding of health and safety through daily routines and guidance, supporting them to make safe choices and grow in independence. For example, they scrape leftover food into a bin, rinse their plates and place them on a drying rack, promoting hygiene and responsibility. Staff reinforce good hygiene practices and supervise children carefully. However, the organisation of some routines does not consistently support children's wellbeing, as interruptions to play reduce opportunities for sustained engagement and emotional regulation.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff support children to recognise and manage their emotions. They use calm interactions and consistent approaches to help children understand expectations and regulate their feelings. Children begin to express their emotions and seek support when needed. Staff take account of children's individual needs, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to support their wellbeing.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders design an ambitious and well-considered curriculum that reflects children's interests, particularly in outdoor learning and exploration, and aligns securely with the early years foundation stage educational programmes. The curriculum is broad and coherently sequenced, enabling children to build on what they already know and can do across all areas of learning, with careful consideration of their individual starting points.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders place a clear emphasis on communication and language, physical development, and personal, social and emotional development. Staff plan purposeful experiences that build on children's prior learning. For example, during outdoor role play, children revisit familiar experiences, such as shopping. Staff extend this by modelling mathematical vocabulary, such as 'full', 'empty', 'more' and 'less', while encouraging children to count and compare, helping them to apply and deepen earlier learning. At times, these approaches are not consistently embedded by all staff, and daily routines occasionally interrupt learning, limiting children's opportunities for sustained, shared thinking.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders monitor teaching and provision to identify areas for development and support staff practice. Assessment information is used to identify next steps and inform planning. Teaching is effective overall. Staff use modelling, questioning and real-life experiences to support engagement and learning, adapting their interactions through clear language, visual prompts and practical resources.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have a secure understanding of how to identify children's needs and provide appropriate support to reduce barriers to learning, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language. They draw on their experience of working with external professionals to support children effectively and ensure that appropriate strategies are in place. Leaders monitor children's progress and adapt support accordingly. For example, staff use visual prompts, 'now and next' boards and practical resources to help children understand routines and expectations. They also make thoughtful environmental adjustments, such as reducing lighting or providing quieter spaces, to support children's emotional regulation and engagement.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders are committed to supporting all children to make progress and they take appropriate action to secure additional support. However, on occasion, they do not seek external professional advice at the earliest opportunity. This means that, for a very small number of children, support is not as sharply targeted as it could be to secure the very best rates of progress.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff gather useful information about children's backgrounds, although this is not consistently used to incorporate children's home languages alongside English. Leaders use early years pupil premium funding to provide targeted support for children. They review its impact to help reduce gaps in children's learning and development.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a clear understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development. They show a commitment to continuous improvement. They engage positively with parents and share information regularly about children's experiences and development. Leaders ensure that statutory requirements are met and children are cared for in a safe and organised environment. They take appropriate action to address areas for development and improve provision.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders monitor the quality of provision through observations, assessment information and discussions with staff. This enables them to identify areas for improvement. However, the monitoring cycle is not yet sufficiently sharp to ensure that priorities are consistently acted upon and lead to measurable improvements in practice and outcomes for children.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders make thoughtful decisions in the best interests of all children, including those who face barriers to learning, and work collaboratively with external professionals to support children's needs. They provide staff with regular supervision, access to professional development and appropriate support for wellbeing and workload. Leaders recognise the need to strengthen the precision and timeliness of their monitoring, external engagement and professional development. They are taking steps to ensure that priorities are followed through consistently and that training is well targeted and evaluated, supporting greater consistency in practice and continued improvement in the quality of teaching and outcomes for children.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children are happy, settled and confident in this small and nurturing setting. They arrive eager to begin their day, independently placing their belongings away and quickly engaging in play. Children separate from their parents with ease, showing that they feel safe and secure. They form warm, trusting relationships with staff, share their ideas, seek reassurance and celebrate their achievements. Children attend regularly and show enthusiasm for being part of the setting.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children enjoy a wide range of experiences, particularly outdoors, which reflect the setting's focus on exploration and curiosity. They take part in forest-school activities and local walks along the brook, where they explore the natural world. For example, children use magnifying glasses to observe insects, such as ladybirds, and talk about what they can see. They make connections to their previous experiences. Others explore landscapes, confidently naming features, such as deserts, mountains and woodlands, and matching animals to their habitats. These experiences support children to develop their knowledge and skills across all areas of learning. Children make steady progress from their starting points and are developing the skills needed for their next stage of learning and school.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Overall, children, including those learning English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are supported to develop their communication skills and confidence. Staff model language skills, introduce new vocabulary and engage children in meaningful interactions. Children begin to express their ideas, take part in conversations and engage with others.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children learn alongside their peers and are included in all aspects of the setting. They develop positive social skills, such as sharing, turn taking and cooperating with others. Parents are kept informed through regular communication, enabling them to feel involved in their children's experiences. Children develop independence through daily routines, such as handwashing, snack time and choosing activities. They show curiosity, confidence and a growing ability to explore, learn and play.

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Next steps

Leaders should strengthen staff training and review daily routines to ensure consistently high-quality teaching that promotes sustained, shared thinking, deeper engagement and opportunities for children to lead and extend their play. Leaders should review current practice by ensuring that where concerns persist, external advice is sought at an earlier stage to secure timely support, so that children with special

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: LIVING MONTESSORI LIMITED

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:30 - 16:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

educational needs and/or disabilities receive coordinated and effective support as early as possible. Leaders should ensure that staff consistently gather and use children's home languages alongside English to support communication, confidence and inclusion for children who speak English as an additional language.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff and parents during the inspection.

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About this inspection

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. This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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