Crickets Montessori Nursery School

Philosophy: It uses the Montessori method of education combined with learning through play.

Activities: For example, even younger children have an excellent knowledge of letters and the sounds they make, and many older children are able to read simple words. Children have a great love of books and often retell stories in the correct sequence.

Skills , Knowledge and Behavior: Staff support children's understanding of the natural world in exceptional ways. For example, they take children on a nature hunt in the garden, where they use binoculars made by the children to spot different birds. Children match the bird to pictures in non-fiction books and staff teach them names of different kinds of birds.

Communication: They ensure that parents are kept very well informed of their children's progress, using flexible and successful approaches. For example, staff provide contact books, daily verbal feedback and parents' meetings.

Welcoming and Professional Staff: Staff take great care to learn about children's individual preferences. They build strong, caring relationships with children and value them highly.

Safeguarding Training: Staff undergo regular, comprehensive training to keep their skills and knowledge up to date. The manager has excellent systems in place to make sure that children are readily identified and well supported, where necessary.

Play and Learning Integration: Children develop a wide range of excellent physical skills. For instance, they take part in Montessori activities, such as transferring rice grains very skilfully from one small container to another.

Transition to Primary School: Staff offer a very rich and exciting range of activities. They make thorough and comprehensive observations of children, which they make excellent use of to ensure that children are highly challenged. Children make exceptional progress.

Diversity Management: Children have an excellent understanding of and respect for people from different religious or cultural backgrounds. For example, they make costumes and masks to pretend to be in a parade at a South American festival.

Child Safety Management: Staff have high expectations of children and manage children's behaviour very successfully.

Children's Safety and Security: Children have an excellent awareness of safety. For instance, they check the garden with staff to identify any hazards, such as slippery, wet leaves and sweep them up. Children tuck chairs under tables when they leave. They handle a wide range of tools and delicate materials with great care and caution.

Happiness and Settling: Staff take great care to learn about children's individual preferences. They build strong, caring relationships with children and value them highly.