Royton nursery celebrates a good Ofsted

Staff at a Royton nursery support children's emotional well-being and spend time getting to know them during the settling in period – according to education watchdog Ofsted.

Channings Childcare on Fir Bank Road, has been graded a good mark across all five categories of the report, which included overall effectiveness, the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management. 

During the visit, it was noted that children arrived at the nursery with huge smiles and were keen to embrace staff with cuddles. 

Their behaviour was praised along with the many activities staff undertake with them including interest in cooking, which has involved a visit to the supermarket for vegetables so they could make soup and share it with their families. 

Inspector Luke Heaney said: “Babies babble with delight while exploring paint. Staff support children’s emotional well-being incredibly well.  

“They spend time getting to know children and their families well during the settling in period. Children have a strong sense of belonging. They feel safe and settle quickly. 

“Staff support children to become independent from a young age, for example, children help to tidy toys away, take care of personal belongings and put their own coats on.” 

The inspection found that the nursery continually improved to raise standards with an ambitious curriculum which determined the knowledge that children should learn and the order this should happen. 

However, Inspector Heaney added that some staff were not clear on what leaders intended children to learn which meant on occasions some activities were not pitched at the right level: “Some staff expect younger children to count beyond five. This means that some children lose interest in their learning," he said. 

The report concluded that staff morale was high as they had time to complete children's assessments and attended training to keep up to date with changes in early education policy. 

Support in place for children with special educational needs or disabilities was also given the thumps up. 

To improve the quality of the early years provision further, Inspector Heaney said Channings should provide children with more time to respond to questions to better support their communication and language skills.  

Nursery Manager at Channings, Kathryn Cocker, welcomed the report, adding: “I am very proud of our team, their hard work and dedication enables our children to have the best possible start in life.”