Children celebrate Ofsted rating at nursery in Filkins

The Old Station Nursery Filkins, part of The Old Station Nursery group, was rated Good in all areas, including quality of education, leadership and management and behaviour and attitudes.

The most recent inspection of the Filkins nursery was carried out in July, with the inspection report published in August.

“Children arrive happy and settle quickly into the nursery's familiar routines,” the report said.

“They make strong attachments with staff, especially their key person.

“Staff know and understand the children very well.”

The report added that nursery staff have high expectations of children's behaviour and use effective and consistent strategies to promote behaviour of the positive kind.

“Staff take every opportunity to praise children, however small their achievement is,” the report said.

“This helps to promote children’s self-esteem and confidence.”

Ofsted also praised the curriculum offered by the nursery.

“Staff provide a tailored and varying curriculum of activities to ensure that curiosity is fostered in children of all ages,” it said.

“Children investigate and explore as they develop a range of skills.”

Ofsted said that recent management and alterations to the team have resulted in positive changes within the nursery.

“The manager is committed, knowledgeable and an effective leader,” the report said.

“Management and the staff team work closely together. They have a clear vision and carry out robust self-evaluation that considers the views of the children, parents and staff.

“This is accurate and drives continual improvements, which have a positive impact on the outcomes for children.”

The report also noted: “Leaders do not fully focus on wider training opportunities to support staff’s professional development and consider the impact the training has on the quality of education.”

It added that to further improve the early years provision’s quality, the nursery should “enhance wider professional development and focus specifically on reflecting on the impact the training has on the quality of education”.

“We are incredibly proud of our recent Good grading from Ofsted, which recognises the hard work and dedication of the whole team,” nursery manager Katie Houghton said.

“Children’s learning and development are at the forefront of what we do every day.

“However, one of the best parts is seeing that the children are happy and love coming to nursery.”

Ofsted said on its reports website that from September, it is no longer making an overall effectiveness judgement in inspections of state-funded schools.