The Montessori People Thornaby

A willow tunnel for toddlers, an outdoor classroom for two-year-olds and woodland play for preschool children give The Montessori People Thornaby a recognisable character. Montessori learning here centres on children choosing activities, handling materials and working things out themselves. The gardens extend that approach beyond the classroom. Outdoor space is a substantial part of the offer.

The nursery cares for children from 2 to 59 months and has 80 places in total at Highflyers Childrens Centre, Tedder Avenue, Thornaby. At its 28 November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and found safeguarding effective. The useful detail beneath that judgement includes carefully organised room transitions, enthusiastic learning and opportunities to build relationships beyond the nursery.

Families can book full days, mornings or afternoons. The educational emphasis is independence, although more consistent encouragement of everyday self-care was one of the November 2024 improvement priorities. That distinction matters: the approach gives children opportunities to attempt things themselves, but how consistently adults support those attempts deserves attention.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room combines music and movement with a bright interior and direct access to the sheltered Baby Garden, while staff follow routines carried over from home. Familiar routines give the youngest children continuity as their surroundings change. The garden provides a separate outdoor setting for early exploration rather than requiring babies to share the older children's play space.

In the Toddler Room, accessible activities and furniture suited to young children support independent choices, while the Toddler Garden adds a willow tunnel, tyres to climb over and stories beneath trees. These are concrete opportunities to practise movement and explore different surfaces. Everyday attempts, including using an open cup and putting on boots, also form part of learning.

The Tweenie Room, for children between two and three, combines individual attention and small-group work with independence, early phonics and exploration in the gardens. Its outdoor classroom allows lessons and meals to move outside across the year. For children beginning to do more for themselves, that brings practical learning into more than one setting.

Across two classrooms, the Preschool Room combines individual goals with daily group and individual learning, while the Preschool Garden supplies woodland, natural shade and imaginative adventures. Putting on outdoor clothing is part of the preparation for exploring. The physical setting gives older children space to test ideas as well as take part in planned activities.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, with activities matched to their stage of development. Montessori sits alongside it: prepared materials and adult guidance help children choose, experiment and recognise mistakes themselves. The distinction is useful for parents. EYFS is the foundation; Montessori describes how much of the learning is organised.

Materials are designed to let children recognise when something has gone wrong and attempt a correction. Adults observe their work and introduce greater challenge after simpler tasks have been mastered. This gives the approach a practical meaning beyond its name: children handle resources and make decisions, rather than receiving every answer from an adult.

Music, singing, gymnastics and chef skills also feature in the nursery's activities. In November 2024, babies explored instruments, younger children investigated materials by pouring and scooping, and preschool children combined painting with pretend medical play. Those examples show different routes into learning: listening, manipulating objects, making marks and talking through imaginary situations.

Assessment was the qualification to that positive picture. In November 2024, staff used observations to build on children's existing knowledge, but the next learning priorities were sometimes insufficiently precise. For parents, the important question is how an activity connects to what their own child needs next, rather than simply whether the day contains interesting things to do.

Outdoor and Community Life

Each room has its own outdoor area, and outdoor play continues in different weather. The Tweenie Garden includes space for digging, looking for mini-beasts and performing, alongside its outdoor classroom. Babies have a shaded, enclosed garden; older children encounter woodland and climbing opportunities. The outdoor offer changes with children's developmental stage.

Community experiences give learning a purpose beyond nursery activities. In November 2024, children had encounters with emergency-service visitors, links with a care home and shopping trips to obtain ingredients for the chef. These experiences connect conversation and practical tasks to people and jobs children can recognise.

A June 2024 visit to Woodside Grange Care Home during Loneliness Awareness Week involved preschool children presenting residents with portraits they had painted. This was a specific past visit, rather than a promise of a regular outing. It illustrates the kind of community contact children have experienced here.

Relationships and Communication

Settling sessions last two hours, with parents able either to remain alongside their child or leave them with the team. Set room teams provide continuity, while the Baby Room follows each child's home routine. These arrangements address different parts of settling: time to become familiar with adults, and a daily rhythm that does not change all at once.

In November 2024, room moves and new starters' settling arrangements were planned carefully. Close relationships with staff helped children feel secure, and adults supported them to join other children's play. Older children also received help to resolve disagreements themselves. Relationships were part of the learning process, not simply a backdrop to activities.

Information about learning was shared with parents in November 2024 so that activities could continue at home. Books were also available to borrow, including stories selected to help children explore similarities and differences between people. This gives home and nursery something concrete to share: a familiar book or an activity connected to what a child is learning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that partnerships with other agencies brought specialist intervention for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, with parents valuing that support. The mechanism matters more than a broad promise of inclusion: the nursery worked with people outside its own team to support individual children.

For two-year-olds, the nursery retains one adult to four children, compared with the statutory minimum of one to five. That is additional staffing for this age group. It does not establish a room size, but it does mean fewer children per adult than the minimum permits.

Hot food is prepared on site by the nursery's chef, using locally sourced ingredients and a menu that rotates over four weeks. The allergy policy provides alternative menu options and individual management of dietary needs.

In November 2024, daily routines included tooth brushing in every room, and children grew vegetables. The Sun Safe Nursery scheme adds shaded play, spare hats and sunscreen, parental permission for sunscreen application, and teaching through George the Sun Safe Superstar and the Slip, Slop, Slap song. Health is therefore addressed through both practical routines and activities children can understand.

School preparation includes a Graduation ceremony, with families invited to celebrate the end of nursery. Children are helped to understand that their routine, setting and teachers will change. In November 2024, visiting teachers also formed part of transition work. These arrangements address the emotional side of moving on as well as practical readiness.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. A full day runs from 7am to 6pm, a morning from 7am to noon, and an afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. The different patterns give families a choice between a whole day and attendance confined to one part of it.

The nursery operates throughout the year, closing for bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year. The separation between the morning's finish and the afternoon's start is relevant when comparing those sessions with a full day. General enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email or by telephone on 01642 308611.

Getting There

The address is Highflyers Childrens Centre, Tedder Avenue, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 9JP. The nursery also uses Thornaby Family Hub as its premises name.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 hours for two-year-olds, plus the 15-hour nursery education entitlement and a circumstances-dependent 30-hour entitlement for three-year-olds. The three-year-old 15-hour entitlement begins in the term following the child's third birthday. These are eligibility-based arrangements, rather than a promise that every family qualifies.

For the three-year-old entitlements, funded hours can be offset against a monthly bill or used for attendance solely under the entitlement. This accommodates families combining funding with paid childcare as well as those using entitlement hours alone. The nursery accepts employer childcare vouchers and the Government Tax Free Childcare Scheme. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Independence in practice. November 2024 improvement priorities included more consistent encouragement of self-care. During a tour, ask how children are supported to attempt coats, shoes and table-setting, especially when moving between rooms.
• Individual learning priorities. Assessment needed greater precision in November 2024. Ask for an example of how staff choose a child's next learning priority and translate it into an activity.
• Funding and the session gap. Morning attendance ends at noon and afternoons begin at 1pm. Ask how your chosen entitlement fits the attendance pattern, including lunch arrangements and the treatment of meals and non-food consumables in the quotation.
• Dietary needs. Alternative menu options and individually managed requirements form the allergy policy. Families affected by allergies should confirm current kitchen practice and how information follows their child between rooms.

The Montessori People Thornaby suits families wanting either full-day care or morning and afternoon sessions, with a strong preference for hands-on learning and substantial outdoor space. The separate gardens, toddler willow tunnel and outdoor classroom give its educational approach practical substance. The additional staffing for two-year-olds is another useful distinction.

The November 2024 priorities keep the judgement balanced: interesting activities need precise individual learning goals, and independence needs consistent adult support. For families drawn to Montessori, consistent support for independence and individual learning matters alongside the rooms, gardens and settling arrangements.