Active Montessori Day Nursery

Warm relationships and purposeful communication define Active Montessori Day Nursery's first published inspection. Its Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum means children build skills through play, daily routines and adult-guided experiences. Ofsted rated it Good in May 2025, finding happy children who formed trusting relationships with kind, patient staff. The judgement covered education, behaviour, personal development and leadership, with safeguarding arrangements found effective.

The setting is at Unit 1 Hartley Apartments, Perceval Square, College Road, Harrow. It has 34 places in total and covers children from birth to five. The children observed in May 2025 were aged one to four, so the account of daily practice below is dated to that visit.

Communication is built into ordinary activity. In May 2025, practitioners talked with children throughout the day, used songs and stories, introduced new vocabulary and allowed time for answers. Makaton, visual aids and key words gave children more ways to understand and participate. That combination is useful for emerging communicators as well as children who speak English as an additional language.

The nursery follows the Early Years Foundation Stage. This is the statutory framework that turns play and adult-guided experiences into progress across communication, physical skills, personal and social development, literacy, mathematics, understanding of the world and expressive arts. Mathematics was woven through daily routines: number songs encouraged counting beyond five, while comparisons such as taller and smaller made mathematical language practical.

Outdoor activity included climbing, wheeled toys and controlled risk-taking that developed balance and coordination. Staff also took children frequently to places of interest in the local community and beyond, broadening their understanding of where they live and of different cultures.

Relationships were a clear strength in May 2025. Staff recognised when children needed help with emotions and responded promptly; younger children and those finding separation difficult received gentle reassurance through soft singing or comforting cuddles. This created continuity rather than expecting every child to settle in the same way.

Children with special educational needs and disabilities progressed well. Staff responded to individual needs, used additional funding effectively where available and worked with other professionals to close learning gaps. Independence also had a practical place in the day: children managed personal routines, used cutlery, helped themselves to healthy snacks and accessed water independently. Staff discussed nutrition and taught tooth brushing and oral hygiene.

The full day provision ran year-round from 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, in May 2025. It received funding for early education for children aged two, three and four. Families should seek a current nursery-specific quotation and clarify how funded hours fit the attendance pattern they need.

The address is Unit 1 Hartley Apartments, Perceval Square, College Road, Harrow HA1 1ER. The provision is full day care on non-domestic premises and has 34 places in total.

• Physical challenge for younger children. Ofsted asked the nursery to widen younger children's opportunities for challenging physical activity. Families with babies or young toddlers should discuss what daily movement experiences now look like.
• Quality monitoring. Leaders were also asked to sharpen supervision and self-evaluation so that strengths and development needs are identified more precisely. Parents may want to ask what has changed since that visit.
• Attendance pattern. The published record gives a weekday opening window rather than a choice of bookable sessions. Families should establish how a preferred weekly pattern works in practice.

Active Montessori Day Nursery combines warm care with deliberate language development. Makaton, stories, mathematical talk, self-care and community trips give the May 2025 findings useful substance, while the Good judgement provides a positive independent benchmark. The areas for improvement are specific: greater physical challenge for younger children and tighter quality monitoring. It best suits Harrow families seeking weekday full day care who value communication support, growing independence and regular experiences beyond the setting.