Telford nursery praised as ‘inspirational’ by Ofsted inspector
A Shropshire nursery has been praised as ‘inspirational’ by an Ofsted inspector who graded the setting ‘outstanding’ in all four of the assessed areas.
Smiley Faces Day Nursery in Limekiln Lane, Wellington, received an inspection from the education regulator in July.
During the routine visit inspector Ali Myers assessed the nursery in four key areas: the quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; leadership and management – all found to be ‘outstanding’.
“Children enter this inspirational nursery with excitement and are warmly greeted by the enthusiastic staff,” found the Ofsted inspector. “The inspirational manager and staff have created a family ethos of love and mutual respect.
“This is visible consistently throughout the nursery. Staff get to know each family very well, including those that they are key person to.
“This enables the creative team to deliver a meaningful curriculum that focuses on extending opportunities for children and offering new experiences.
“Staff skilfully assess children’s starting points and create personalised next steps. Children make excellent progress and are confident, independent learners.”
At the time of the inspection there were 47 children enrolled at the nursery aged between one and four years old.
Inspector Mrs Myers praised the nursery’s staff for being attentive to the children’s needs and helping them feel ‘safe and loved’.
She added that by displaying kindness and compassion to the children and each other, staff provided positive role models.
Mrs Myers added that she found ‘exemplary behaviour’ throughout the nursery and that children played cooperatively and shared resources.
“The creative staff at this nursery make excellent use of their local environment to strengthen the quality of experiences that take place,” added the inspector. “The inspirational manager recognises the value of imaginative play in developing children’s language and communication skills and creativity.
“She provides children with drama workshops to enhance their skills and uses evaluation of these activities to drive improvement in role-play provision in the nursery.”
The Ofsted inspector also found that staff were ‘highly effective’ in identifying gaps in children’s development.
She added that the nursery’s special educational needs coordinator creates personalised learning plans for children needing them, resulting in the children making ‘excellent progress’.
“Parents are extremely grateful for the care and devotion that staff provide to their children,” added the inspector.
“They state that their children make excellent progress due to the valuable experiences that the nursery staff offer.”
Mrs Myers also praised the nursery’s manager for identifying the importance of outdoor learning in enhancing children’s physical development.
The inspector also found that there is a ‘strong safeguarding culture’ within the nursery and that children’s safety was their priority.
