Bright Spark Montessori

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are enthusiastic and keen to join in as they arrive at nursery. They smile as they are greeted by the warm and caring staff. Children benefit from strong key-person arrangements that help them to build close bonds with staff.

This has a positive impact on their emotional well-being and helps to ensure that they feel safe and secure. Children are well behaved and develop positive attitudes to their learning. The well-organised environment promotes their natural curiosity and eagerness to learn.

Children have high levels of confidence in their abilities and in social situations. They eagerly interact with staff,... each other and visitors. Children develop good communication skills and confidently share what they know and can do.

They benefit from a language-rich environment and, as a result, they thoroughly enjoy singing, listening to stories and spending time with staff, who listen to them and are attentive to their needs. Children count, identify colours and develop the small muscles in their hands as they carefully thread beads onto string. They enjoy sharing their keen imagination and creative skills as they show what they have made with pride.

Staff create an environment that allows friendships to flourish. Children are kind and friendly towards each other. Staff regularly praise them for sharing and helping each other.

There is a strong sense of belonging at this welcoming and inclusive nursery.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

The manager monitors the quality of the provision effectively. She makes sure that mandatory training, such as first aid, is kept up to date.

She reviews and arranges focused professional development plans for staff to continually improve their knowledge and skills. Since the last inspection, there has been a focus on developing safeguarding and child protection knowledge. Staff have completed training, including for designated safeguarding leads.

The manager and staff work well together as an enthusiastic and dedicated team. They are committed to providing an inclusive environment where all children and their families are welcomed. They work effectively with parents to support children's learning.

This means that all children receive the help they need to enable them to make good progress.Training and support for staff working with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is prioritised. Staff are very clear about what children need to learn and how to adapt the curriculum accordingly.

They work closely with the special educational needs coordinator and other professionals. As a result, children are given the right support they need to help them succeed.Staff share high expectations for children and demonstrate a secure understanding of each child who attends the nursery.

Children who are learning English as an additional language or who are bilingual are very well supported in maintaining and developing their language skills.The manager and her staff team implement a well-thought-out curriculum. Staff do not move on to the next learning objective until children are secure in their knowledge.

During group activities, the sessions are planned well by staff who implement effective strategies to help keep children interested and on task. As a result, all children are engaged and able to retain interest. This promotes their learning in all aspects.

Staff encourage and support children to make choices and follow their own interests. Children really enjoy themselves as they engage in imaginary play. They are animated as they invite the inspector to join them in the café where they have arranged all the different food for the guest.

The manager places high priority on staff well-being. Staff say they are very happy and feel well supported in their roles. They have regular staff meetings and opportunities to share their views and opinions as a team.

Staff recognise the need to provide plenty of opportunities for children to develop their physical skills. This is in order to build on children's developing physical skills and access to fresh air and the natural environment. However, in the absence of access to outdoor space at the setting, outings, including to the local park, are not as regular as they could be.

Parents comment how happy their children are attending the setting. They say that staff take time to get to know children. They consider children's interests and prior learning when planning activities.

The manager and staff are always considering ways to encourage learning at home, with recent plans being introduced for children take books from nursery to read at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff are clear about how to keep children safe.

They are confident in fulfilling their responsibilities, including reporting and escalating any concerns to the relevant outside agencies. The manager ensures that all staff receive regular training and updates about child protection and safeguarding issues. Staff make effective use of risk assessments to ensure that the premises are safe.

The setting is secure with a clear visitor procedure, and staff complete regular fire drills. Vetting and recruitment processes are in place to ensure all adults are suitable to work with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: develop the planning for outdoor play to provide all children with rich learning experiences that develop their curiosity and provide appropriate physical challenges.

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