Fountain Montessori Preschool Edgware

Fountain Montessori Preschool Edgware

Unique reference number (URN): 2857352 Address: Edgware House, 389 Burnt Oak Broadway, Edgware, HA8 5TX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 13/08/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Fountain Montessori Pre-School 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 Strong standard

Children secure breadth and depth in knowledge and skills across all 7 areas of learning. Babies strengthen balance and coordination as they climb into and out of the sandpit. Action songs help them recall movements and respond confidently. Toddlers learn directional language while pedalling bicycles and improve coordination as they fill, carry and empty containers along the water track.

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Achievement Strong standard

Older children confidently retell familiar stories to their friends. They hold books carefully, turn pages in sequence and use pictures to recall events and describe characters' feelings. Other children listen attentively, contribute ideas and wait for their turn. This develops narrative skills, comprehension, confidence and enjoyment of books.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children make substantial progress from their starting points, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English alongside home languages. They communicate confidently. Their curiosity, attention, resilience and independence prepare them very well for transitions between rooms and on to school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders have embedded a harmonious and respectful culture. Staff teach high expectations through consistent modelling, clear language and familiar routines. Babies recognise photograph-labelled cups and collect their own drinks. Toddlers pass cups to friends and help clear tables. Older children pour drinks and help prepare activities. These embedded routines teach independence, cooperation and responsibility from the outset.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Relationships are warm and trusting. Staff use stories, emotion boards and self-regulation spaces to help children recognise feelings, seek support and return to play. Visual turn- taking cards, short phrases and additional processing time make expectations accessible. Staff maintain high expectations while adapting support to children's developmental, communication and sensory needs. Children increasingly wait, share, cooperate and treat others with kindness.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children display consistently highly positive attitudes to learning. During weekly show-and- tell, older children discuss family photographs, recall experiences, listen to friends and wait to contribute. Staff give quieter children time and value every response, developing their confidence, attention and ability to take part in conversations.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders promote punctuality and regular attendance. Staff check unexplained absences promptly, monitor patterns and work constructively with families to remove barriers. They consider health, transport and family circumstances and involve the local authority when appropriate. This decisive approach helps children establish positive routines and benefit fully from learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders consistently prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing. They review care procedures and use information from parents, carers and professionals to ensure staff understand children's medical, dietary, feeding, sleep and personal care needs. Staff adapt care so children with allergies, disabilities or feeding needs participate safely alongside their peers.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Embedded routines build lasting habits from the baby room to pre-school. Babies finger- feed, practise using spoons, wipe their faces and use a mobile handwashing station independently. Toddlers use open cups, manage cutlery and help clear away. Pre-school children pour drinks, clean spills and complete hygiene routines with minimal support. Staff model and repeat each sequence, reducing help as children's competence increases. Children become highly independent and confident in self-care.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Staff sit facing children during meals and monitor mouthful size, chewing and swallowing. They prepare food in suitable sizes and textures and teach how nutritious choices support energy, growth and healthy bodies. Visiting dental professionals reinforce oral-health teaching. Babies and children recognise thirst, select water and make healthy choices.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Safer sleeping practice is rigorous. Staff keep cots clear, position babies safely and remain present throughout sleep. Camera monitoring provides additional oversight. Staff monitor breathing, temperature and comfort and adapt sleep routines with families. These responsive practices promote secure attachments and emotional wellbeing, enabling children to feel safe and ready to learn.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders provide an inclusive, ambitious curriculum of consistently high quality. It sets out what children should know and be able to do across all areas of learning and sequences this from babies' prime-area foundations to older children's increasing independence and readiness for school. Staff use home visits, observations and parents' knowledge to identify what children know, then plan teaching that builds securely on these starting points.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Highly effective interactions are embedded throughout the day. Staff treat every exchange as an opportunity for teaching and adapt skilfully in the moment. With babies, staff use duck pictures and counting songs to connect quantities from 1 to 5 with words and images. They link books about bubbles to practical exploration with soapy water and bubble wands. Through modelling and narration, children learn the meaning of 'pop', 'big', 'small' and 'blow' while exploring cause and effect.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

In sand play, older children use brushes, letter pebbles and word cards to develop purposeful marks, recognise letter sounds and explore simple words. Staff provide a smaller sand area for older children who find the main sandpit overwhelming, maintaining the same learning ambition. During dough play, staff teach shape names and properties, including edges, lines and corners. Staff balance purposeful teaching with play, repetition and practice. They respond to children's curiosity, check understanding and build skilfully on what children already know, enabling them to excel from their starting points.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Inclusion is woven through every aspect of the provision, including teaching, care routines, transitions and outdoor learning. Leaders identify children's emerging and changing needs quickly and accurately. Home visits, starting-point information, half-termly reviews and regular assessments help staff recognise barriers across learning, development, health and wellbeing. All senior leaders are trained in special educational needs coordinator responsibilities and identify the precise support children need and regularly review how well the agreed adaptations are working.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders work purposefully with speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, health professionals and advisory teachers in the area and neighbouring authorities. This coordinated expertise enables children with complex medical, mobility, hearing and communication needs to make demonstrable gains in communication, movement, independence and participation.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Staff go beyond routine expectations by researching children's specific conditions and requesting relevant specialist training. They share professional guidance across the team and translate it within precise daily practice. Staff skilfully adjust language, sensory demands, routines and equipment. Visual supports, sign-supported communication, quiet spaces and tailored feeding arrangements remove barriers without lowering expectations.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders use early years pupil premium and disability access funding for focused training and resources, monitoring the impact on children's engagement, regulation and learning. Leaders have clear systems for early help and multi-agency support should needs emerge. Their embedded practice improves experiences for disadvantaged children, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and others facing barriers.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders use detailed and perceptive analysis to understand the provision and respond adaptively to changing needs. Senior leaders provide highly effective support and challenge. Rigorous 6 week internal reviews of teaching, room observations, progress reviews and parental feedback help leaders evaluate the impact of the curriculum and care. This maintains a consistent focus on securing high-quality education and care for all children.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have embedded high expectations and professionalism. Structured induction, probation observations, supervision, peer review, coaching and learning walks ensure practice remains highly effective. Targeted professional learning makes staff's interactions purposeful and responsive, enabling children to communicate confidently, participate fully and develop secure habits. The established staff team independently research approaches, request relevant courses and share expertise across rooms. This culture of continuous improvement makes a significant difference to children's education and care.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders consider staff workload and wellbeing. Their open-door approach provides timely guidance, while purposeful feedback helps staff refine their practice. Staff feel valued and confident to discuss concerns. Robust recruitment and safeguarding induction ensure suitable adults care for children. Leaders establish highly effective partnerships with parents and carers. Families exchange information regularly and receive practical guidance through meetings, workshops and coffee mornings. This supports continuity in children's learning and care. Parents describe very close and trusting relationships with staff. They value the highly responsive communication and report substantial improvements in their children's confidence, communication and independence.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders coordinate specialist support and work with local schools to prepare children confidently for their next stage. Community visits, cooking, nature walks and charitable events connect learning to everyday life and deepen children's understanding of the wider community.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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

Children arrive eager to take part and quickly settle with adults, who know them in depth. Babies seek reassurance readily, toddlers explore confidently and older children sustain warm friendships. Children feel safe, valued and fully included. Families' languages, cultures and experiences contribute to everyday learning, helping children develop a secure sense of identity and belonging.

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

Children enjoy a rich range of purposeful experiences. Babies choose accessible resources and take increasing responsibility for feeding and washing their hands. Toddlers investigate coloured ice and water outdoors. They squeeze pipettes, observe ice melting and use new words such as 'freezing' and 'melt'. When children turn the investigation into pretend soup- making, staff introduce the names of vegetables and help them transfer the mixture with spoons and ladles. Children remain deeply engaged, test ideas and persevere. When toy cars become wedged in bowls, children manoeuvre them in different ways until they solve the problem.

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

Children in the pre-school room become confident communicators and storytellers. They select dressing-up clothes, create imaginative characters and retell familiar stories to their friends. Children listen attentively, respond to questions about characters' feelings and take pride in leading the group. This develops language, comprehension and self-confidence in readiness for school.

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

Children who face barriers to learning or wellbeing participate alongside their peers. Tailored visual communication, specialist guidance, sensitive relationships and carefully adapted resources enable them to communicate, move, eat, regulate emotions and engage with increasing independence. Children make substantial progress from their starting points.

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

Children learn to care for one another. They share space and resources, comfort friends and increasingly communicate what they need. Predictable routines, attentive supervision and positive relationships help children thrive. Leaders promote regular attendance with families so that children benefit fully from the setting's ambitious curriculum and form habits that prepare them very well for their next stage.

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Next steps

Leaders should sustain their work to ensure continued improvement and high standards. They should focus on creating a transformational impact on the outcomes and experiences of disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are known (or previously known) to children's social care, and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.

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Address:

Edgware House 389 Burnt Oak Broadway Edgware HA8 5TX

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Fountain Montessori Pre-School 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 the nominated individual, area manager, deputy manager, room leaders, staff, the special educational needs coordinators, children 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.

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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

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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