KidsUniverse Montessori & Day Nursery (Harrow)

KidsUniverse Montessori & Day Nursery (Harrow)
Unique reference number (URN): EY499187
Address: 76 Marlborough Hill, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 1TY
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 25/04/2016
Registers: EYR, CCR
Registered person: Busy Bees Nurseries Limited
Inspection report: 30 July 2026
Exceptional
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
Urgent improvement
Safeguarding standards met
The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for
governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open
culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively
identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.
How we evaluate safeguarding
When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:
Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all
legal requirements are met.

Needs attention
Achievement Needs attention
Progress is not consistently secure across all areas of learning. Children's learning is
sometimes interrupted and sometimes they do not receive high-quality support due to
weaknesses in practice and the key-person system. Children, including those who face
barriers to learning, do not always have the opportunity to build effectively on what they
already know. Children develop independence and positive physical skills. For example,
they wash their hands and eat independently from a young age. Younger children
demonstrate hand-eye coordination and dexterity while using busy boards. Older children
negotiate space and run skilfully in the garden.
Children develop their communication and language skills. Babies participate in singing
times, younger children enjoy familiar stories and repeats their refrains. Older children
discuss about which blocks are the 'widest'. However, due to weaknesses in practice and in
the key-person system, their learning is not extended as much as it could, and it is
sometimes interrupted. As a result, children, including those who face barriers to learning,
do not always build effectively on what they already know. Consequently, progress is not
consistently secure across all areas of learning.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention
Staff are not consistent in how they manage children's behaviour. They do not always
establish clear boundaries to support children to understand what is expected from them.
Some staff do not have the necessary skills to tackle unwanted behaviours yet. For
example, staff ask children to stop running in the classroom. When children refuse, staff do
not address this swiftly. As a result, some children do not learn the impact that their
behaviour is having.
Daily routines are not consistently well planned and, consequently, children are not always
sure what is expected from them. For example, after lunch time, they wait too long and
without clear guidance on what they are supposed to do next while staff get the equipment
ready for sleeping time. As a result, they become restless. Furthermore, lack of consistent
high-quality interactions leads to children not always being engaged. This contributes to
deteriorations in some children's behaviour.
Overall, relationships between staff and children are positive. Babies seek staff for
reassurance and to share cuddles. Older children involve familiar adults in their play. For
example, they build constructions with foam bricks together and share laughs when the
towers fall down. Leaders monitor attendance and follow up unexplained absences. They
work with parents to support their understanding of the importance to bring their children
regularly and on time. This helps children to build good habits for the future.

Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention
Leaders and staff do not ensure that children's care needs are entirely met. This is because
some routines are not planned well enough to consistently support children's welfare and
wellbeing. Transitions between daily routines for younger children are not organised
effectively. As a result, children are unclear about what they are expected to do and do not
engage in meaningful learning at those times.
Children generally form positive relationship with staff and there is a key-person system in
place. However, during some staff absences, the buddy key-person system is not effectively
implemented across the setting. In some rooms, not all staff know the children's individual
needs well enough to fully promote their emotional wellbeing.
Children develop an awareness of how to keep healthy and manage their personal needs.
For example, staff teach them how to keep safe from the heat. Children put hats and sun
cream to go and play outside on sunny days. They develop positive hygiene practice as they
routinely wash their hands before mealtimes. Children physical development and health are
promoted through daily outdoor play and nutritious meals. Staff provide support for children
and families during challenging times, such as bereavement, which fosters children's
wellbeing.
Curriculum and teaching Needs attention
Leaders attempt to create a curriculum that covers all areas of learning and supports
children development both indoor and outdoor. However, the implementation of the
curriculum varies across the age groups and throughout the day. Children generally have
access to activities that extend their learning. For example, babies play with farm animals
while staff encourage them to name them and repeat their sounds, which promote their
curiosity and language skills. Older children show perseverance while engaging in a padlock
activity that supports their early mathematical skills. Nevertheless, staff's interactions to
support children's learning are variable. In addition, organisation of daily routines sometimes
hinders children's learning. At times, transitions between activities take too long and children
lose interest and their behaviour deteriorates. As a result, children, including those with
special educational needs and/or disabilities are not always engaged in meaningful learning
opportunities. Leaders' plans to improve this are appropriate. However, those are not
embedded yet and it is too soon to determine their impacts on children's outcomes.
There is a positive focus on promoting independence. Children freely access resources to
lead their play and take care of their belongings. Younger children take off their shoes and
tidy them away. Older children hang up their hats returning from outdoor play. Children are
provided with opportunities to develop their physical skills. For example, they run freely in
the garden and complete threading activities.
Inclusion Needs attention
Children who have been identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities
(SEND) are not consistently supported to make progress based on their individual needs.
Staff do not have a consistent approach to ensure meaningful, focused interactions are

consistently implemented. Leaders have not yet ensured that all staff consistently adapt
their teaching across the different-age groups. While leaders identify children who need
additional help and know the strategies to support learning barriers, some staff do not use
these strategies or follow individual plans consistently. As a result, some children do not
always get the help they need to fully take part in activities or receive targeted play
opportunities. For example, children show an interest in size-sequencing blocks but do not
know what to do, and staff miss the opportunity to support their learning. This limits progress
for some children, including those with SEND. That being said, staff support children who
speak English as an additional language by sharing celebrations and learning key words in
their home language.
Leaders use additional funding appropriately to purchase resources that meet
disadvantaged children's needs, including items that support their physical development.
Leadership and governance Needs attention
Leaders do not use supervision and support effectively to improve the quality of teaching or
to ensure that all staff consistently understand and implement procedures, particularly in
relation to support children who have barriers to learning and in managing children's
behaviour and routines. This means children do not always get clear messages about what
is expected from them and some children do not receive the targeted support they need to
make swift progress. Leaders acknowledge and are aware that there are areas of practice
that need improvement. However, their plans have not been implemented yet and it is too
soon to determine their impact on children's outcomes.
Leaders establish positive partnerships with parents and carers. Parents appreciate the
support they receive during difficult times. They add that their children are happy to attend
and that communication with staff is effective overall.
Staff state that they attend training. Although, this is not targeted to focus on making the
improvements that are needed to raise the quality of teaching and practice to be consistent
across the setting. Most practitioners speak positively of their role and feel that leaders are
considerate of their workload. However, some staff, at times, feel overwhelmed because of
their multiple responsibilities.

Compulsory Childcare Register requirements
This setting has not met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Compulsory Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can
have the following outcomes:
Met
Not met
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Teaching is variable across the setting. Therefore, children do not consistently benefit form
high-quality learning opportunities in all areas of learning. For example, while children enjoy
taking part in singing and storytelling and eagerly join in with gestures and repeated refrains,
these experiences are not consistent across the setting and throughout the day. In addition,
children are not always supported well enough during routines. Some children are not
consistently engaged in high-quality interactions. This is because their key person is not
always available to provide individually tailored care. This hinders the progress they make
and it does not consistently support them to achieve their next stage in their learning, and
outcomes are uneven. Furthermore, a lack of clear expectations, at times, hinders children's
behaviour. Some children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not
make the progress of which they are capable. Staff are aware of children's individual needs,
such as those who speak English as additional language and children with SEND. However,
they do not consistently apply targeted plans that enable all children to have the same
access to the curriculum. This can limit their progress over time.
Children generally enjoy their time at the setting and form positive bonds with staff. Although
there are weaknesses in the curriculum, some aspects of it work well. For example, children
develop independence and physical skills. Older children help sweeping sand from the floor
while babies open their drinking cups independently. Children like to spend time outdoors,
where they enjoy energetic play and parachute games with staff and their peers. This helps
them to develop some skills in readiness for school.

Inspectors:
Leaders encourage regular attendance and follow up unexplained absences. This helps to
promote children's good habits for the future.
Next steps
To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the
provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:
Action Completion Date
provide further support to staff to consistently
implement agreed strategies for children with special
educational needs and/or disabilities to support them to
make progress
27/08/2026
improve daily routines and transition times to ensure
children are fully supported with meaningful interactions
and understand what is expected from them
27/08/2026
strengthen staff skills to provide all children with a high-
quality curriculum that adapts to each child's individual
learning and development needs
27/08/2026
ensure there is an effective key-person system in place
to ensure children receive tailored support to meet their
needs in all rooms
27/08/2026
implement consistent strategies to manage children's
behaviour and to set clear expectations that are
understood by the children
27/08/2026
About this inspection
The inspectors spoke with leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs coordinator,
children and parents during the inspection.
We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the
quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The
registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for
children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

Damiana Cornacchia
Samantha Thorn
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): EY499187
Address:
76 Marlborough Hill
Harrow
Middlesex
HA1 1TY
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 25/04/2016
Registered person: Busy Bees Nurseries Limited
Register(s): EYR, CCR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00
Local authority: Harrow
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 30 July 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
1 to 4
Total number of places
96

Our grades explained
Exceptional
Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.
Strong standard
The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of
them.
Expected standard
The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are
following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional
standards expected of them.
Needs attention
The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary
improvements.
Urgent improvement
The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of
education and/or care.

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects
services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects
and regulates services that care for children and young people.
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