Owner's pride as nursery rated good by education inspector

Staff at Earlybirds Day Nursery were praised for the way they “put the children first and go above and beyond expectations” in newly published report following an inspection by education watchdog Ofsted.

The Carter Lane nursery was rated good in each category of education quality, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, for an overall rating of good.

Emma Darrington, nursery manager/owner, said: “We were elated to get a judgment of good, especially with how hard receiving an outstanding is now.

“The children interacted with the inspector really well – she fed back that she’s never been to an inspection where children were so confident to actually go up to her and start talking and inviting her to join in.

“Our practitioners made me so proud all the way through, We had been preparing for a very long time and it really paid off, staff we’re confident talking about how we safeguard our children, child development and how we support this and our strong parent partnerships.”

The newly published inspection report recognised how “children’s friendships blossom” at the nursery, as well as how the youngsters demonstrate they “feel happy and safe” by understanding and respecting nursery boundaries.

It said: “Managers are reflective and committed to continually improving the nursery. Managers foster a positive environment in which they praise and celebrate staff.

“Staff interact with children well. Staff are enthusiastic and make activities exciting and fun. Staff foster children's love of stories and singing and support the development of their communication and language skills well.”

To further improve, the nursery was encouraged to “improve staff skills in leading group activities to ensure all children remain fully engaged and interested in learning”.

Mrs Darrington said: “Moving forward we will continue to provide outstanding care and education for all of our children and their families. We will be working on our recommendation pushing all children to be fully engaged – we work tirelessly driving for improvement.”

“I’ve worked at this nursery for almost 30 years and owned it for 19. This nursery and my team mean everything to me. It makes me so proud to serve our community and its surrounding areas.”

To see the full report, visit reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/16/EY283029