A nursery in Hove has been rated outstanding by Oftsed in an inspection report published yesterday (Thursday 20 April).
Teddy Bears Day Nursery, in Glebe Villas, Hove, provided a “stimulating environment” and “a range of high-quality activities”, according to Jade Orosz, the inspector from the official education watchdog.
She said: “Staff ensure that every activity is purposefully planned to develop children’s skills and knowledge while appealing to their interests and promoting curiosity and exploration.
“Children’s behaviour is exemplary. Children consistently demonstrate extremely high levels of engagement and focus across the whole nursery.
“Children develop a varied and broad vocabulary because staff introduce them to new words (and) children confidently ask thought-provoking questions.
“A highly ambitious curriculum is provided across all areas of learning. Children consistently develop new skills that contribute to them being ready for the next stage of their education.
“They have a wealth of opportunities to develop their understanding of mathematics. Staff expertly extend children’s thinking by asking them thought-provoking mathematical questions.
“Staff nurture a love of reading. Children are passionate and excited when staff read to them. They listen intently for extended periods of time to their favourite stories.
“Staff promote children’s love of reading at home by encouraging children to bring in books to share with their friends.
“Leaders swiftly identify any children who require additional support and embed strategies to help children catch up.
“Where necessary, leaders act quickly to seek support from other professionals such as speech and language therapists.
“This ensures that all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve the best possible outcomes.
“Staff have very high expectations of children’s behaviour. They reinforce excellent manners and act as superb role models for children.
“As a result, children show high levels of respect for each other and support their friends to achieve.
“Staff provide children with a rich set of experiences that help them to develop a secure understanding of their local community and the wider world.
“Parents speak extremely positively about the care and education their children receive. They value not only the support for their children but also the support that they receive as parents.
“Parents praise the hardworking dedicated staff team. They comment on how they are astounded by the knowledge their children are gaining while at nursery.
“Leaders are inspirational and fully dedicated to supporting their staff team to deliver exceptionally high-quality learning experiences and care. They provide staff with regular and focused supervision.
“Leaders target staff’s professional development, helping them to build their skills and knowledge to the highest level.”
The Ofsted report also said: “Children become extremely independent and responsible … Children demonstrate maturity when using technology (and) learn to make healthy choices about screen time.”
The privately owned nursery was first registered in 1991 and is currently run by Susan Thomas, 57, also known as Susan Standing.
She has spent more than 30 years at the nursery which was rated good when it was inspected previously in August 2017.
The nursery has nine staff and provides 34 full day care places, with 50 children up to four years old on the roll when it was inspected last month.
To read the full report, click here.
