A glowing inspection report has showered praise on a Suffolk nursery, rating it ‘outstanding’ in all areas.
Children develop an “excellent” sense of belonging at Lavender Hall Kindergarten in East Bergholt, inspectors from education watchdog Ofsted found on their visit in March.
The nursery, in Hadleigh Road, has 110 children on roll – who thrive in an environment they find inspiring, inspector Maria Blanche said.
At its last inspection in 2015, the kindergarten was rated ‘good’ but this time it was awarded the highest possible rating of ‘outstanding’.
“The leadership and management of the setting is exceptional,” she wrote in a subsequent assessment report.
“A particular strength of the nursery is its self-evaluation.
“The provider and staff are relentless in their pursuit of excellence, building and reflecting upon current practice to achieve an outstanding setting.”
Youngsters make warm and caring attachments with staff and their peers, inspectors said, and enjoy visits to the local community, including a recent outing to a nearby farm.
They embrace opportunities to care for living things, such as the kindergarten’s Peter Rabbit, and are beginning to recognise shapes, explore weights and measure quantities.
Teaching was considered “outstanding”, and the inspector found children were animated, enthusiastic, and took “delight in the rich, varied and imaginative activities”.
Staff are thrilled the nursery has received such glowing praise.
Principal Andrea Lewison said: “It’s just unbelievable.
“We are so proud to have it and I just want to thank everybody for their input, all of my amazing stuff, all our wonderful parents and not forgetting the wonderful children. The day was perfect.
“We had a lovely day, everybody was calm, knew their stuff, they were absolutely phenomenal.
“We are going to keep up our standards, we want to keep our outstanding rating forever.
“What makes this place so special is my amazing staff. Without them I couldn’t do it. They are amazing.
“They work tirelessly, they are fastidious about their setting, and they never stop. They are brilliant.
“We like to promote a home from home environment so the children, the parents, feel happy to come here.
“We’re just conscious that we want to be the best we can.”
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