Lilliput Montessori Day Nursery Whetstone

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

As they arrive at the nursery, babies smile when they see familiar staff and put their arms out to them.

Toddlers and pre-school children happily say goodbye to their parents at the door and take the hand of a member of staff to walk into the nursery. Staff support children to recognise their feelings and emotions and express them. When children occasionally struggle to regulate their behaviour, staff help them put a name to how they are feeling.

For example, when a toddler struggles to wait for a turn on the bicycle that he favours and becomes upset, staff ask him if he is sad. When he confirms that he is sad, staff g...ive him a cuddle and reassure him that it is okay to feel that way. Staff remind him that it will soon be his turn to use the bicycle.

Children learn to share, take turns and be respectful of their friends.Staff provide children with a wide range of opportunities to develop their physical skills. Pre-school children learn to move their bodies in different ways to travel around the garden.

They practise their coordination and balance as they complete obstacle courses. Staff stay close at hand, supervising children and offering a steadying hand to help children gain their balance when needed. Staff support toddlers to learn how to hold and use gardening tools, such as spades and trowels, safely as they dig in the vegetable patch.

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

The manager has created a curriculum that encourages children to develop the skills that they will need to gain in order to be ready for their eventual move to school. Staff explain how they observe and assess children's development. They use the information that they gain to plan appropriate activities based on children's interests and the skills that they know children need to learn next.

However, not all staff are fully aware of the curriculum intention. This has led to some inconsistency in the implementation of the curriculum.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported.

The manager, who is also the special educational needs coordinator, works with the child's key person, parents and external agencies to access the right support. They agree and implement strategies that enable children to make good progress in their development.Children of all ages have easy access to a wide range of fiction and factual books.

Staff are skilled storytellers, and they help bring stories alive as they read to children. Children remain focused and engaged at story time. Pre-school children independently help themselves to books, and they sit together to look at them, turning the pages with care as they retell stories from memory.

Staff recognise the importance of encouraging children to develop a sense of responsibility and independence. Toddlers and pre-school children confidently use jugs to pour their own drinks and use serving utensils to transfer food from serving dishes onto their own plates. Children are developing an understanding about good hygiene practices, and they know that they need to wash their hands before they eat to help keep them healthy.

Parents comment that their children are happy and enjoy attending the nursery. Staff work closely with them to keep them updated about their child's development and help them understand how to support their child's learning at home. However, where children attend other early years settings, these partnerships are not yet fully established to enable staff to work consistently to support the child's care and learning needs.

All staff have regular supervision and receive feedback on their practice. The manager highlights staff's strengths and the areas where they may need support, mentoring or professional development opportunities, to help them gain new knowledge and skills. Staff's well-being is a priority for the manager.

Staff comment that they enjoy working at the nursery and feel well supported in their role.Staff play alongside children and help them extend their play. They introduce mathematical language, such as 'full' and 'empty', as children pour water into containers.

Staff encourage children to problem-solve, supporting them to build a bus out of large cardboard tubes and boxes. However, some staff do not fully encourage children to engage in conversations and share ideas. They ask too many questions in quick succession and do not allow time for children to answer.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support all staff to have a clear understanding of the curriculum intent so that they are consistently focused on what they want children to learn support staff to engage children more effectively in conversations to extend children's communication and language skills further share information with other settings that children attend to ensure consistency in the support that children receive.