Popular nursery in Huthwaite earns Ofsted praise for improvements by 'nervous' staff

This time last year, inspectors handed the Little Lambs Day Nursery a rating of ‘Requires Improvement’, even though they found that children enjoy being there.

But now, after Ofsted’s latest review, the Main Street nursery has regained its previous rating of ‘Good’, both for its overall effectiveness and in all four individual categories, which cover quality of education, behaviour and attitudes of children, personal development of youngsters, and leadership and management.

One of the main criticisms last year focused on Little Lambs’ work with two-year-old toddlers, who were ”sometimes disengaged with their play” and “did not learn as much as possible”. This was because “staff did not always interact with, or encourage, them to be involved in activities”.

At the time, Little Lambs blamed “extreme nervousness” among staff who were having their first experience of an Ofsted inspection, and the nursery vowed to “work hard to build their confidence”.

This year, inspector Lianne McElvaney recognised the improvement and reported: “Since the last inspection, staff working with two-year-old children have had the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of how to provide an environment that supports learning.

"Young children are now fully engaged in their learning and play, with opportunities to develop skills appropriate for their age and stage of development.”

The nursery, which is operated by Little Lambs Nursery Ltd, has 85 children, aged six and under, on its books. It employs 12 members of childcare staff and is open Mondays to Fridays (7.30 am to 6 pm) all year round, except for a week at Christmas.

The inspector found that it has “close partnerships with parents”, who “speak highly of staff and feel well supported”.

"Parents comment that staff care for their children very well, and they appreciate the range of activities the nursery offers,” the report said.

Ofsted found that “children have fun as they take part in imaginative play” and “form good friendships with each other”. They also “develop a love of songs and stories”, “learn to be independent” and “develop their physical skills”.

The management team and staff had “implemented a broad and ambitious curriculum to help children make good progress”, and staff working with babies were “particularly skilled”.