Merrydays Montessori Nursery School

Bottle lids and carefully balanced towers characterised learning at Merrydays Montessori Nursery School in September 2022: practical tasks that let children test their skills for themselves. At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found that children developed confidence and independence, with sustained concentration in their activities.

Based at Memorial Hall in Henley-in-Arden, the nursery has capacity for 25 children. In September 2022, the children attending were aged two to three; that is a snapshot of the children there at the time.

In September 2022, Montessori learning involved children choosing equipment and practising everyday tasks, including opening and closing bottles with different lids. The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care; here, practical Montessori activities helped children explore its areas of learning. Building towers with blocks of different sizes also gave children a reason to think about order and balance. They had to persist.

Language and mathematics were woven into shared activities that September. During a story, staff explained an unfamiliar word through facial expressions, giving children a playful way to understand its meaning. At group time, counting the children prompted a discussion about who was missing. These examples connect vocabulary and number to something children can see and do.

Outdoor equipment supplied another practical challenge in September 2022. Children made an obstacle course using beams, while staff discussed safe climbing and leaving space for jumping. Music sessions also involved choosing instruments and responding to a signal to stop, bringing listening into shared play.

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities exceptionally well supported to participate and make progress. Staff used their knowledge of children's interests and ways of learning to engage them in activities.

In September 2022, adults gave children clear explanations about behaviour and modelled courteous interactions. Children invited others into their play while respecting a friend's choice to decline. Books about different families opened discussions in which children could contribute their own experiences.

Communication with families was also part of the September 2022 picture: parents felt well informed about their children's nursery day. Ongoing assessments helped staff identify what each child needed to learn next, linking observation to planning.

The address is Memorial Hall, Station Road, Henley-in-Arden, B95 5JP.

In September 2022, the nursery operated on weekdays during term time, with sessions running from 9am to 3.15pm. It also provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. These attendance and funding details describe the arrangements at that date.

• Practical independence. The September 2022 activities included bottle fastenings and carefully ordered construction. Families drawn to hands-on learning have concrete examples of the approach here.
• A dated attendance pattern. The September 2022 model was a term-time weekday session. At a visit, ask which current attendance and funding arrangements fit your child's age and your working week.

Merrydays suits families interested in Montessori learning through practical activity, with a strong September 2022 inspection judgement behind that approach. Its inspection-era term-time sessions would suit families seeking a nursery day aligned with the term calendar. The clearest educational appeal at the September 2022 inspection was the combination of independent choices and adult guidance: children tackled manageable challenges, while staff turned stories, counting and shared play into learning.