A SOUTH OCKENDON nursery that was told it needed to improve has been praised by education watchdog Ofsted.
Headstart Nursery in Darenth Lane, South Ockendon was inspected in January, 2017.
The report stated:
The management team has made significant improvements since the last inspection. The managers are constantly evaluating the provision to make further improvements. They welcome support and advice from local authority advisers.
Children make good progress in this friendly and welcoming nursery. Staff offer children a wide range of activities which interests, motivates and challenges them. They have a very good understanding of how to promote children’s learning through play.
The outdoor environment has been imaginatively developed to include all areas of learning. It effectively supports children who learn best outside. They freely explore, investigate the natural world and have many opportunities to develop their physical skills.
Children who have special educational needs and children who speak English as an additional language are supported well. Staff attend regular training and work closely with parents and other professionals to ensure children receive appropriate support and are fully included.
Parents speak very highly of the nursery. Staff develop strong partnerships with parents and keep them well informed of their children’s progress. They also help parents to support their children’s learning at home.
It is not yet outstanding because:
Opportunities for staff to share and model good practice across the team are not yet embedded to help raise the quality of teaching even further.
Inspection report: Headstart Nursery, 20 January 2017 2 of 5
What the setting needs to do to improve further
To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:
support staff in raising the quality of their teaching more swiftly to enable them to benefit from the knowledge and expertise among the team.
