Inspection Number: 1120315
| Name of setting: | The Maypole Montessori Nursery School |
| Setting number: | 511665 |
| Address: | High Hurstwood Village Hall |
| High Hurstwood | |
| Nr Uckfield | |
| East Sussex | |
| Postcode: | TN22 4AD |
| Person responsible for the day-to-day management of the setting: | Mrs G Shearer |
| Position: | Proprietor |
| Name of Inspector: | Wendy Smith |
| RgNI's Registration number: | 25942 |
| Date(s) of inspection: | 22/03/99 |
| Inspection number: | 1120315 |
The inspection took place as part of a national programme of inspection of the educational provision for four year olds. It was commissioned by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED), a department of central government.
The purpose of the inspection is to identify strengths and weaknesses so that providers can improve the quality of educational provision and help children to achieve the Desirable Outcomes for children's learning on entering compulsory education, (ie by the age of five). It is also to ensure parents and the public that nursery education funded by the state is of an acceptable quality. The inspection report must be made available to all parents.
If the setting has been inspected previously, an action plan will have been drawn up to tackle issues identified. This inspection, therefore, must also assess what progress has been made in the implementation of this plan.
The Maypole Montessori Nursery School opened in January 1993 in High Hurstwood, a rural area. It occupies the village hall which is organised into a variety of Montessori learning areas.
The strengths and weaknesses of the educational provision provided
Maypole Montessori Nursery School provides a stimulating and challenging place of work. The staff create a welcoming and orderly environment. They provide a good range of activities and by the time they are five years old, most children are likely to achieve the desirable learning outcomes in all areas.In order to improve the quality and standards of the educational provision, the setting should:
Expand the programme for knowledge and understanding of the world to increase children's regular access to various forms of technology, for example the nursery tape recorder and programmable toys..The provider must draw up an action plan within 40 working days of receipt of this report showing how the key issues or points for development detailed above will be addressed. The action plan must be made available to all parents, and to the Local Education Authority if required. An evaluation of the action taken will form part of the next inspection.
| Personal and social development | Promotes the desirable outcomes |
| Language and literacy | Promotes the desirable outcomes |
| Mathematics | Promotes the desirable outcomes |
| Knowledge and understanding of the world | Promotes the desirable outcomes |
| Physical development | Promotes the desirable outcomes |
| Creative development | Promotes the desirable outcomes |
Taken overall, the quality and standards of the educational provision are acceptable in promoting the desirable outcomes for children's learning. The action plan should show how the provider will address the key issues or points for development within 12 months of the inspection.
It is recommended that the next inspection occurs within two to four years.
The strengths and weaknesses of personal and social development
The programme for personal and social development is good and it is a strength of the nursery. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is being fostered appropriately. Behaviour is very good; children respond well to the appropriately high expectations which the staff set. Relationships are good at all levels and children are encouraged to interact well together and care for each other. For example, children are developing choice and initiative by serving themselves with a drink and a snack at any time throughout the session. This also provides the opportunity for older children to help the younger ones, by helping them to pour from the jug carefully.The strengths and weaknesses of language and literacy
The programme for language and literacy is good and promotes the desirable learning outcomes. There is a good range of activities to enable children to develop their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Children listen attentively to staff and each other during well-organised activities including register and news time, and when staff are explaining instructions to them and reading stories. They are encouraged to talk about their experiences during news time and throughout the day, for example, recalling activities undertaken previously in the day and what they are going to do with their families during the Easter holiday. Staff use these and other opportunities during the session to introduce new vocabulary. This is done on a daily basis related to the letter of the week and the current project. Staff introduce words such as penguin, pattern and primrose and encourage children to suggest their own examples. They tell the children the names of people who help us and explain well what they do. Children are able to use this new vocabulary in their imaginative role-play appropriately and act out and make up their own stories, in the practical life skills area, pretending to be cooking and making pizzas with peas, and acting out being a lollipop person, for example. Children are developing good writing skills through directed activities, such as using their index finger to trace around the letters of their name, on their name cards at register time. This is good preparation for writing. They are also copying and writing simple words, in their workbooks, independently. Children have opportunities to write using their own initiative during free play. When painting, drawing and colouring they include simple words, letters and their names. Some children are able to write their own names very well, using upper and lower case appropriately. They enjoy books very much and are able to use them appropriately, following the text from left to right and telling each other stories. Children pretend to read stories to each other, some are already able to read simple sentences properly. Some good clear labels around the room support simple word recognition and enable children to associate print with meaning. Children have many opportunities and are able to recognise their own names, for example, on their coat pegs and on their drawers. During organised and routine activities children demonstrate the ability to recognise their names, such as when they have had their snack, they take their name off the board. The shape and sounds of letters are regularly introduced, such as through the use of Montessori equipment and other activities. Games, poems and stories are effectively used to enable children to recognise patterns in words and rhymes.The strengths and weaknesses of mathematics
The programme for mathematics is good and promotes the desirable learning outcomes. Children have regular opportunities to count as part of a range of well-organised activities and opportunities, including register time when they count all the children present. They do this collectively and individually and are able to count correctly. Most children can count up to ten and some can count beyond ten accurately. Children enjoy singing a good variety of counting rhymes and songs and taking part in games involving money. They learn the values of the coins and undertake simple addition and subtraction well. They are able to identify and use numbers; the number of the week, the calendar board and well-organised activities, such as pretending to be postmen delivering letters, enhance practical use of numbers and number recognition. Worksheets are also used and children identify and record numbers on these. They also make use of writing materials in free play to record numbers under their own initiative. Puzzles, and the use of specific Montessori equipment such as the geometric cabinet, containing a variety of shapes, encourages good shape and number recognition and pattern making. Children experience simple problem solving, for example, working out how many chairs are needed around the table for the number of children taking part in small group activity, and they respond well. They receive opportunities to compare, match, order and sequence, for example, when building the pink tower, they place the bricks in the appropriate order of size and when taking part in a matching game they sort counters and numerals and order, count and compare these. Children are regularly encouraged to develop an understanding of, and to use mathematical language appropriately, such as when making and walking around a maze, they had good discussions about the edges, and shapes; rectangles and squares, being in the middle. When building steps with rods children talk about length, height and position.The strengths and weaknesses of knowledge and understanding of the world
The programme for knowledge and understanding of the world is good and promotes the desirable learning outcomes. Children are able to talk about and explore events in their lives, for example, during news time children talk about what they are going to do in the Easter holidays. They are also encouraged to discuss their work and activities undertaken during the session in the nursery. Children are encouraged to explore the concept of time, learning the days of the week and months of the year through the daily use of a calendar board. The discussion and exploration of seasons enables children to begin to develop the concept of time, past and present. Children are also able to observe and discuss patterns and change through discussions and projects about the weather and seasons. Good displays of photos, maps and posters support their understanding. They explore their environment through visits, for example, to the village pond to undertake pond dipping, to investigate pond life. They are developing skills and competence in cutting, joining, folding and building, through a good range of art and craft activities including dough modelling and recycled materials and the use of construction sets and games. Montessori activities, such as building the broad stair, the pink tower and making a maze enhance these skills. The displays, such as the interest table and nature shelf allow them to explore nature, such as growing and nurturing bulbs and seeds and learning about where eggs come from and comparing these. Children are encouraged to bring in items relating to the current theme which enables them to explore made objects and their purposes. They are encouraged to record their observations, for example, after a black hen came to visit the nursery, the children drew pictures and made collages of her. Children are able to question why things happen and have opportunities to explore how things work, for example, by investigating absorption and colour changes when putting white carnations into coloured water. A minor weakness in this area is that children have very limited access to technology to support their learning. The staff operate the tape recorder and the child computer is used for specific occasions on an infrequent basis. A telephone has been used recently for teaching children how to call the emergency services. There is a good programme of visitors to the nursery, including a road safety representative, dentist, policeman and fire fighters with fire engine.The strengths and weaknesses of physical development
The programme for physical development is good and promotes the desirable learning outcomes. Children are able to move confidently and carefully when dancing and singing, being sure to manoeuvre around each other safely, for example, pretending to be plants, trees and rain drops. Music and movement is a regular feature of the curriculum. Much of the equipment, such as tweezers and pincers used for activities such as transferring small items, support the development of small muscle control. Children move imaginatively and with increasing skill in role-play and when acting out stories, such as when taking turns to be the postman and lollipop person, carrying the post bag and posting letters competently and guiding children across the 'road' safely. They are developing good climbing and balancing skills on the climbing frame and when taking part in well-organised activities such as walking and balancing on a string line. Children enjoy developing climbing and manoeuvring skills when playing on the large equipment including the large tunnel. They are developing fine manipulation through painting, threading, modelling, completing puzzles and many other well-organised activities. Good pencil control is being encouraged through drawing, colouring and writing. Children are using a range of tools and materials, including dough, cutters, rolling pins, scissors and a range of Montessori utensils with dexterity. They are able to build and make models using bricks, dough and recycled materials competently. Children are receiving many good opportunities to develop co-ordination and bodily control, both indoors and outdoors.The strengths and weaknesses of creative development
The programme for creative development is good and promotes the desirable learning outcomes. Children are exploring sound through playing a good variety of musical instruments and listening to music on audio cassette. They enjoy experimenting with volume and different sounds, when singing and playing musical instruments, expressing ideas and communicating their feelings well. Children take part in the annual village fete, including the fancy dress competition. They enjoy helping to make and wearing their outfits. They are currently taking part in activities such as making recycled models, collages and pictures from their imagination. Staff enable children to demonstrate care and respect for each other while developing creativity and imagination in making up and acting out stories during story time and when pretending to be people who help us. Children enjoy making up their own stories in the practical life area. Through activities, such as making paint mixing to produce new colours, free painting and colouring, modelling and collage, children are successfully exploring colour, texture and shape and developing their imaginations. They are also learning about colour through good discussions about colours of their clothes, the paints and art materials they are using. Children use and develop their senses by being encouraged to respond to what they see, hear, smell, touch and feel. Learning by using all of the senses is a vital Montessori principle. They are able to listen and observe well and make up and act out their own stories. Displays and a variety of pieces of work, for example, the 'Europe' project provide children with good opportunities to make maps and flags and sample foods from European countries. Children are stimulated and enabled to develop their imagination and creativity through well-organised activities and opportunities which are linked to all areas of the curriculum.The strengths and weaknesses of the overall planning of the educational programme
Planning promotes the desirable learning outcomes. Medium-term and short-term plans are regularly written.The strengths and weaknesses of teaching and assessment
The quality of teaching is good overall. Staff demonstrate confident knowledge and understanding of all six areas of learning and are very able to integrate these with the Maria Montessori philosophy and principles. This successful integration has a positive impact on children's learning. Their knowledge and ability is shown in their work with the children, how they communicate with each other, their planning and the standards which they set for children's learning.The strengths and weaknesses of equality of access and opportunity
Both boys and girls are well supported and have equal access to the full curriculum. Staff encourage all children to take part in all activities and to access all resources equally. They intervene appropriately to offer support and encouragement; one-to-one work is of a good standard. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of children's individual needs, and although there are currently no four-year-olds with special educational needs, the staff are providing good support for younger children with special educational needs. The nursery has a special educational needs co-ordinator who ensures the nursery has access and appropriate links with other professionals to enable them to support children effectively. The special educational needs policy reflects the Department of Education's Code of Practice 1994 for the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs and staff demonstrate a good understanding of this. There are no children who have English as a second language. The staff recognise that they would need to seek specialist advice and guidance to be able to support children learning English as an additional language. The good one-to-one work and staff understanding the need to provide appropriate teaching means that children's needs are met.The strengths and weaknesses of the learning resources and accommodation
The nursery is very well equipped and resources positively support all six areas of learning. There is a good range of large equipment for indoor and outdoor use; this is well maintained and organised into Montessori learning areas. The quality and variety of the resources have a positive impact on the children's learning. The majority of the equipment is Montessori materials, which is enhanced by a range of quality games, puzzles, musical instruments, small world items (e.g. small animals and small toys), role-play equipment, writing materials and science resources, books, both fiction and non-fiction, and other equipment. Some resources reflect other cultures i.e. books, role-play equipment and pictures, particularly in the cultural learning area. The nursery has a good selection of art and craft materials and a variety of resources for construction. A minor weakness in the range of resources, is the very restricted amount of technology i.e. a children's computer which is used only for particular occasions. All equipment is well organised and mostly clearly labelled. Nearly all resources are accessible to children.The strengths and weaknesses of the partnership with parents and carers
Partnership with parents and carers is good. They feel encouraged to participate in nursery activities on a day-to-day basis, such as bringing in items for the current topic and interest table and when going on local walks. Parents feel able to share information about their children's development at home with the staff, informally on a daily basis and at the parents evenings. They appreciate the approachability and friendliness of the staff and are confident that they are given good informal feedback regarding their child's progress on a daily basis. Regular newsletters provide good information about themes and topics and requests for parental involvement. The prospectus gives a good explanation about the Montessori curriculum, but it is not explicit about the integration of the desirable learning outcomes. Very positive relationships have been developed with the parents and carers, both informally and formally.Implementation of action plan
The action plan arising from the previous inspection is a brief document, consisting of tasks necessary and a broad time-scale. Monitoring and evaluation performance indicators, proposed time-scales, review dates and responsibilities are not included. However, the implementation of the action plan is good.