A nursery said it is “absolutely delighted” to be rated ‘good’ by Ofsted 18 months after it was set up.

The Clarendon Montessori School, based at the North Watford Scout Hut in Abbots Langley, received the positive rating in its first inspection report published today (July 30).

It looks after 36 children aged two to four and teaches them according to the Montessori method, which aims to develop children’s natural interests outside of traditional classrooms.

Joanna Denton, who founded the school with Anne-Marie Bouchakra in January 2023, said they were “absolutely delighted”. 

Joanna Denton and Anne-Marie Bouchakra own the Clarendon Montessori School.Joanna Denton and Anne-Marie Bouchakra own the Clarendon Montessori School. (Image: Joanna Denton) The co-owner said: “Just 18 months after taking over the nursery, it was such a lovely way to end the term and be able to show off all our hard work, experience and passion for the children and their families. 

“We pride ourselves on providing a nurturing family feel nursery where we ensure there are plenty of learning experiences to access through planned activities which all feed from our new Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum."

The nursery is based in the North Watford Scout Hut in Abbots Langley.The nursery is based in the North Watford Scout Hut in Abbots Langley. (Image: Joanna Denton)

She added: “It was a delight to read the Ofsted report and felt that it gave an overall feel of our nursery which we always put so much time, passion and love into.” 

In the report, Ofsted said staff worked well together and created a calm learning atmosphere for them to “thrive”, when it visited the nursery on July 3.

The Ofsted report said: “Children arrive and wave goodbye to their parents and carers happily, before settling down at an activity of their choosing.”The Ofsted report said: “Children arrive and wave goodbye to their parents and carers happily, before settling down at an activity of their choosing.” (Image: Joanna Denton) It added: “Children arrive and wave goodbye to their parents and carers happily, before settling down at an activity of their choosing.”

As part of inside and outside activities, children learnt to use their bodies in different ways and improve their hand-eye coordination.

Inspectors praised the school for helping prepare the young children to go to primary school, as staff encouraged them to carry food trays and open their own packages to develop their independence.

The nursery teaches children according to the Montessori teaching method.The nursery teaches children according to the Montessori teaching method. (Image: Joanna Denton) Staff also identified children’s areas for improvement and adapted their teaching to support their individual strengths and stages of development.

The managers had a good knowledge of the nursery’s children and their families, and they sent resources home to support their development outside of the school.

.Through inside and outside activities, children learnt to use their bodies in different ways and improve their hand-eye coordination. (Image: Joanna Denton) This helped them develop “strong” relationships with parents who felt informed about what their child had done that day.

Inspectors said interactions between staff and children were positive overall, although they found they did not always encourage children to make connections between their different lessons to further support their learning. 

Children who have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) were said to receive good support as the nursery employees knew them well and formed “meaningful bonds”.