Diwali and a good Ofsted report made all things bright at nursery

The Festival of Light and a rather good Ofsted report made for a very bright day at one nursery.
Horsham Montessori has been rated 'good' by OfstedHorsham Montessori has been rated 'good' by Ofsted
Horsham Montessori has been rated 'good' by Ofsted

Children at Horsham Montessori, in Higgins Way, were learning about Diwali when word reached staff that the nursery had been rated ‘good’. The news was a complete contrast to the previous inspection, in May, when the nursery was rated ‘inadequate’ – a report manager Jacky Brown said had been “disappointing”.Jacky added: “We are pleased to have our long-standing grade of consistently ‘good’ re-established with Ofsted, and thank our wonderful parents for their constant praise and support.” That support was one of the points highlighted by inspector Maura Pigram.In her report, which was published on October 19, she said: “Parents speak very highly about the level of care and education with which their children are provided. “They receive frequent information about their children’s progress and they feel very involved in their children’s learning.”As for the youngsters, Ms Pigram said they were gaining the skills needed for the step up to primary school – as they proved when they showed her how well they could write their names.She added: “Older children work well together to solve problems, such as discovering how gravity works when playing with balls and tubes.”Their behaviour was praised, and Ms Pigram noted older children confidently helped the little ones, also showing new arrivals where to put their belongings.The activities offered to the children were seen to be a balance of those they chose for themselves and those that were planned. The Diwali celebrations were one example, with the youngsters learning about the intricate rangoli patterns used during the festival. Ms Pigram highlighted only two areas for further improvement – the need to strengthen the monitoring of staff performance and the need to give more opportunities for the children to explore their own creative ideas.- Parents attended a coffee morning at Horsham Montessori last week, where they received information about safeguarding children, and tried some pumpkin soup made by the teachers. There were many requests for the recipe!

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