Unique Child Montessori Nursery

Unique Child Montessori Nursery

Unique reference number (URN): 2721031 Address: Stockwell Methodist Church, 44-55 Jeffrey's Road, Stockwell, London, SW4 6QX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 25/02/2023 Registers: EYR Registered person: Unique Child Day Nursery 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 progress from their starting points across areas of learning. They become more confident in exploring the environment and taking part in activities, with children increasingly able to follow routines and engage in adult-led and child-initiated play. They develop communication skills through through daily interactions and conversations with staff where staff model vocabulary, repeat key words and use songs, signs and visual prompts. For example, during activities where children unwrap objects, staff introduce new vocabulary and encourage children to describe what they see and feel, extending their language in context.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop independence through daily routines such as serving food, pouring drinks, and helping to tidy resources. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make progress towards individual targets through small-step support and repetition. Children who speak English as an additional language are generally supported through visuals. As a result, children develop the skills and confidence needed for the next stage of their learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children behave well and respond positively to familiar expectations and daily routines within the setting. They build secure relationships with staff, which helps them feel settled and confident. Staff generally provide calm and consistent guidance, supporting children to understand expectations during play and group times. Children are encouraged to be kind to one another, share resources, and take turns. For example, children wait for their turn when using outdoor equipment and share materials during creative activities. Staff support children to begin to recognise and talk about feelings, helping them manage emotions such as frustration or excitement during interactions with others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children show positive attitudes to learning and are engaged in activities that reflect their interests. They listen to instructions, follow simple rules, and join in with group experiences. For example, children respond to reminders about expected behaviour during group time and show perseverance when tasks are challenging. Staff use praise and encouragement to reinforce positive behaviour, helping children develop confidence and motivation.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Attendance and punctuality routines are promoted through regular communication with families. Leaders monitor attendance patterns and work with parents where needed to encourage consistent attendance and timely arrival. This helps ensure children are able to access learning regularly and benefit from continuity in their experiences.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders prioritise children learning about the world around them through practical, hands-on experiences that build curiosity and understanding. The curriculum enables children to explore living things, natural materials, and everyday objects in ways that are meaningful to them, with staff responding to what children show interest in during play and building on this through their interactions.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children develop communication as staff talk with them about what they are doing and introduce new vocabulary linked to their experiences. For example, in real fruit and vegetable role play, staff encourage children to name items, talk about textures, and describe what they can see and smell, helping them connect words to real objects. Early mathematical skills are developed through practical experiences across the setting. For example, children count the playdough worms, talk about how many they have made, and move objects into containers while using language such as 'more' and 'less'. They also explore size and quantity when filling buckets with sand, soil, or water.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children's strength and balance are developed through a range of active experiences that support coordination and control. For example, children dig, scoop, pour, and use tools such as scissors and pipettes, building strength and physical confidence. Staff generally adapt interactions and resources so that children with different starting points, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language, can participate and access learning alongside their peers.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders identify children who may need extra help and work closely with parents and outside professionals to make sure support is in place early. Staff observe children carefully and use what they notice, along with simple assessments, to plan next steps that help children make progress, especially in speaking, independence, and social skills. They adapt activities and daily routines so all children can join in, using approaches such as simple language, signs, visual prompts, and step-by-step guidance. Leaders also use additional funding to provide resources such as sensory equipment and adapted tools, and they make sure staff receive training to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This helps children take part in activities and build their skills over time.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders also work with other professionals, such as speech and language therapists, and local specialists, to support children who need extra help. Where children are known to social care services, leaders share information, attend meetings, and work with families to support children's wellbeing and stability at home and in the setting.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Children who speak English as an additional language are welcomed through books, songs, pictures, and activities that reflect their home cultures and languages. Staff use visual support and simple instructions to help children understand and join in. However, staff do not always find out key words from children's home languages, which means support for communication is not always consistent.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders provide a clear vision for the setting, focused on creating a nurturing environment where children develop independence, communication, and confidence. Since the last inspection, they have implemented a range of changes to develop practice and provision, including reorganising learning environments and routines, helping staff deepen their understanding of the curriculum, and increasing management oversight across the setting.

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Needs attention

These changes have helped staff develop a clearer understanding of children's learning and individual needs.

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Needs attention

Leaders have improved arrangements for staff development through regular supervision meetings, training opportunities, and team discussions that focus on practice and children's needs. Training includes safeguarding updates alongside targeted areas linked to communication and inclusion. Staff say they feel well supported by leaders, particularly in relation to behaviour management and meeting the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders also consider staff wellbeing through supportive oversight and flexible approaches where possible.

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Needs attention

Leaders maintain positive relationships with parents and carers and seek their views through ongoing communication and feedback opportunities. Information is shared with families about children's experiences, and parents are supported through signposting and advice where needed. Leaders also work to ensure families feel included in the setting's community and contribute to children's learning and care.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Children are not always supported through daily care routines in a consistent way. Leaders do not always ensure that agreed procedures and risk assessments are implemented effectively by all staff. Safer eating guidance is not always followed consistently. There are occasions where food is not prepared in line with choking prevention guidance and where children are not always reminded to remain seated while eating. Hygiene routines are also not consistently implemented, including inconsistent handwashing between care tasks. This results in variability in how effectively care procedures are applied across the day. However, when issues are identified, leaders and staff respond promptly and make immediate adjustments, such as changing food preparation when expectations are highlighted.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Leaders and staff provide warm, attentive care. Children are settled, emotionally secure, and form positive relationships with familiar adults who respond sensitively to their needs throughout the day. Staff generally support children's comfort and emotional wellbeing effectively, helping them to feel reassured and cared for during daily experiences. For example, staff comfort babies through close interactions, familiar songs, and soothing voices, and respond sensitively when children need reassurance or support to settle. Staff know children's individual preferences well, including their comfort needs, interests, and stages of development, which helps children feel secure and develop confidence within the setting.

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

Children do not always experience well-managed daily routines. Staff do not always implement safer eating and hygiene procedures consistently. For example, children are occasionally allowed to move around while eating, food is not always prepared in line with safer choking guidance, and hygiene routines are not consistently followed during some care practices. This means children's safety and wellbeing are not consistently promoted during all daily routines.

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

Despite this, children are happy, settled, and enjoy their time at the setting. Babies form close relationships with familiar staff, who comfort and reassure them through cuddles, eye contact, and favourite nursery rhymes as they settle into routines. Children confidently explore the environment and eagerly take part in sensory experiences. Babies climb steps and scoot downstairs while staff count and praise their achievements. Toddlers and preschool children enthusiastically explore dinosaurs in mud, real vegetables, sand, water, insects, and natural materials. Children show curiosity as they learn about life cycles, examine mealworms and beetles, and use ambitious vocabulary such as 'metamorphosis' during discussions and play.

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

Children develop increasing independence through daily routines. They pour their own drinks, cut fruit for snack, wash and dry their plates, tidy resources, and help prepare beds for sleep. Staff encourage children to persevere and praise their efforts, helping them develop confidence and positive attitudes to learning. Children behave well and enjoy calm routines. They wait patiently during group activities, help one another during play, and take pride in completing tasks independently. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are included in the life of the setting and receive support that helps them make progress from their starting points, particularly in communication, independence, and social development. Parents value the caring relationships staff build with children and appreciate the support and guidance they receive.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage the provider must take the following action by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

ensure staff implement risk assessments consistently, especially in relation to care and mealtime routines. 01/06/2026

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Address:

Stockwell Methodist Church 44-55 Jeffrey's Road Stockwell London SW4 6QX

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Unique Child Day Nursery Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

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

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, parents and children 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.

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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.

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Urgent improvement

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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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