The Bristol Montessori School
Good★ 4.2 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Bristol for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2025. Open since 2005, with 52 places.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
BS9 1AQWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 13 January 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff provide children with a warm welcome into the carefully planned and resourced environment. Children quickly learn the structured routine and behavioural expectations of the Montessori approach that staff follow. Children understand the ground rules and classroom etiquette. They follow staff's instructions, line up, sit patiently, take turns and are impeccably well behaved.
Children make good progress in their learning from their individual starting points.
Staff implement a varied curriculum that provides many rich play and learning experiences, indoors and outdoors. Children gain great independence from a young age. For example, children, including two-year-old children, find their name to register their attendance and choose where they wish to play. They remove and hang up their coats, peg their outdoor shoes together, learn to do fastenings and choose activities that they want to do. Children move freely between the four classrooms that are based over two floors, negotiating the stairs confidently and safely.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- give greater focus to extending children's communication and language development, and make more use of stories, songs and rhymes
- provide parents with more regular first-hand experiences to gain an insight into their children's play, learning and social interactions.
- 13 January 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 10 September 2019Good
- 28 September 2015Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Bristol Montessori School
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.