Secret Garden Montessori

Choosing an activity, pouring a drink and putting materials away are part of the education at Secret Garden Montessori. This Nailsea nursery builds its Montessori approach around children taking responsibility for small, manageable tasks, with accessible activities indoors and outside. Independence has a practical meaning here.

At its 24 January 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall, with Outstanding personal development and effective safeguarding. The strongest practical examples concerned children managing everyday tasks themselves: dressing for outdoor play, serving lunch and looking after their belongings. Those details give the personal development judgement substance beyond the grade.

The nursery has 33 places in total, and welcomes children from 10 months to five years. Bambini provides the youngest children's care, while the older nursery group combines learning materials with access to a purpose-built play garden. Morning, afternoon and combined sessions give families different attendance options.

Rooms and Ages

Bambini, the group for babies and children under two, has a maximum of nine children per session and uses Montessori materials to support development across physical skills, relationships, emotions and learning. That cap is a useful starting point for parents weighing the scale of their baby's care; it describes the youngest group's maximum, rather than the number of children across the nursery.

The 2-5 yrs Nursery gives older children freedom to move between learning spaces and the gardens, with opportunities for older children to demonstrate materials to younger ones. Its purpose-built play garden extends the space for activity beyond the main learning area. Choosing where to work and watching another child demonstrate a task are both part of the arrangement.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the required framework for learning and care: children develop communication, physical skills and understanding through play and everyday experiences. Montessori adds the nursery's particular way of organising that learning, with children selecting materials, completing practical tasks and returning things after use. It sits alongside the EYFS requirements.

Maths and literacy materials sit alongside creative, cultural, practical life and sensorial activities. The last two bring the approach down to a child's scale: handling objects, exploring textures and practising movements that need coordination. Pouring drinks and peeling fruit are learning opportunities as well as useful things to do. The Montessori approach explains this emphasis on choice and practical activity.

In January 2024, toddlers developed a story about a polar bear family, changing their voices and using balancing and climbing to act out its journey. Older children created an imaginary fire, drew flames in chalk and worked together with water and syringes to extinguish it. These examples joined language, movement and shared problem-solving within the same play.

There were limits to the delivery. In January 2024, some planned activities did not make full use of the resources intended to support learning, and handwashing interrupted a group book activity before some children reached its ending. The improvement priorities were more consistent use of resources and better timing of group activities. For parents, the useful distinction is between having thoughtful materials and organising the day so children can finish engaging with them.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School takes learning into woodland, with shelter-making, bug hunting, building dams and painting with mud among the activities. Children have practical reasons to communicate and cooperate as they explore materials and tackle tasks together. This is an addition to the nursery's indoor work, with a different setting for shared activity.

Language classes introduce Polish, French and Spanish through simple phrases and words woven into songs, cooking and games. The languages are attached to things children are doing, giving unfamiliar words an immediate context rather than treating them as an isolated exercise.

Local outings also have a place in the nursery's history. In July 2019, children visited Stockway Nature Reserve, examined pond creatures and matched bird boxes to picture cards; that term also included soft play at Scotch Horn Leisure Centre. These are examples of past outings, rather than a current trip timetable.

Relationships and Communication

Settling for the older nursery group can begin with an hour, then build through longer visits towards a session or a day. A gradual start gives a child time to become familiar with the people and routines before staying for longer. The pace matters as much as the eventual attendance pattern.

Parents of children in the older group receive two written observations each week, with summer-term meetings to discuss development and access to the child's keyworker or manager for day-to-day concerns. This gives families both regular examples of learning and an opportunity for a fuller conversation. The written observations make progress concrete rather than leaving it to a general update.

In January 2024, familiar staff recognised babies' comforters and the signs that they needed reassurance. Nappy changes included calm individual interaction, and a welcome song helped young children learn one another's names. Care routines were also occasions for conversation and connection, rather than pauses in the nursery day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO role and an EAL coordinator role provide named responsibilities for special educational needs and children learning English as an additional language. These are useful contact points for families discussing a child's needs. These roles identify responsibilities within the support structure.

In January 2024, staff helped children put feelings into words, supported disagreements about joining play and encouraged them to return an activity when finished. Everyday self-care was equally practical: children used a mirror to help wipe their faces and noses, while older children poured drinks and replenished the water jug.

In June 2019, staff were preparing transfer reports to share children's development with their new schools and planned opportunities to try on uniforms and practise dressing. These preparations concerned transition, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 100 High Street, Nailsea, Bristol, BS48 1AH. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Enquiries can be made on 01275 851 123 or through the contact form.

For the older nursery group, morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm; children can attend both for a whole day. Bambini also offers full-time and part-time care. The older group's clock times make the distinction between a morning, an afternoon and a combined day clear, rather than leaving families with opening hours alone.

Funding and Paid Extras

In January 2024, the nursery received funding for free early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Food is prepared on the premises from fresh ingredients, with breakfast at 8am, lunch at midday and tea at 4pm. Snacks and drinks are provided during morning and afternoon sessions, and children can help with preparation, including peeling vegetables and weighing rice.

• Finishing activities. In January 2024, resource use and interruptions to group learning were improvement priorities. During a private tour, ask how activities are now organised so children can complete them.
• The youngest group's scale. Bambini has a maximum of nine babies and toddlers per session. Ask how settling and individual care are arranged within that group for your child's stage of development.
• Annual attendance. Opening information gives 49 weeks, while the older nursery description gives 46 weeks. Confirm the closure calendar before matching attendance to your working year.
• The complete quotation. On-site meals and snacks form part of the nursery day. Ask for a written breakdown of funded and paid hours, food charges and consumables such as nappies and wipes.

Secret Garden Montessori suits families who want children to practise independence through real tasks, with woodland activities and introductions to other languages alongside learning materials. Its morning and afternoon sessions serve different routines, while combining them provides a whole-day option for the older group.

Bambini's nine-child cap and the older group's regular written observations give parents concrete features to weigh. The January 2024 activity-management priorities deserve attention too. The central appeal is clear: children have meaningful choices and practical responsibilities, with care routines contributing to their learning.