High praise for nursery in first inspection by education watchdog

YMCA East Anton, in Dairy Road, received an overall rating of ‘good’ from Ofsted following a visit in November.

It highlighted that the nursery was ‘good’ in three of its assessment areas including effectiveness of leadership and management and quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

Particular praise was lauded on the provider for personal development, behaviour and welfare, in which it was rated as ‘outstanding’.

The report, published on December 19, said: “Familiar routines help children settle quickly and support their understanding of expectations effectively. Children learn to manage their personal care independently and learn a wide range of useful skills, such as using cutlery expertly at lunchtime.”

And applause was given to its manager who was deemed “ambitious”, with the report adding that she “successfully motivates a forward thinking and ambitious team”.

“She has an accurate understanding of where the nursery is most successful and has a clear focus on future priorities to secure ongoing improvement.”

Inspectors praised staff for their knowledge and providing “engaging activities that successfully meet the needs of individual children and ignite their motivation to learn”.

It was also noted that all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, progress well.

Inspectors added: “Children develop a wide range of skills they need to progress on to the next stage of their learning.”

The only improvement inspectors suggested was to strengthen the opportunities for children to negotiate and manage simple problems for themselves.

YMCA community branch manager Jamie Douglas said: “We are really pleased. I think it was better than we expected in many ways as they don’t often give ‘outstanding’ in a first inspection. The team here, nursery manager Vikki and staff, have been working really hard.”

Mr Douglas added that the nursery will not stop at ‘good’.