Eastbourne nursery gets 'good' rating following Ofsted inspection

Tom Thumb Nursery, at 12 The Avenue, was given the rating following an inspection on November 21, 2023.

This was the first routine inspection the nursery received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider.

The report, which was published on December 28 2023 gave the nursery a ‘good’ rating in the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

The report stated: “Children settle quickly on arrival and show curiosity to explore a broad range of activities set up for them to engage with.

"Staff have good relationships with children, providing warm and positive support. They regularly praise children when they practise new skills.

"Staff provide a good range of activities to promote children's physical development. For instance, staff model how to thread dry pasta quills onto pipe cleaners to make necklaces.

"Children demonstrate good levels of persistence and concentration when practising new skills. Staff recognise that providing a variety of opportunities to support children's fine manipulative skills will contribute towards muscle control for later handwriting.”

Staff were also praised in the report for how they allowed the children to do things for themselves and help them achieve.

“On the whole, staff demonstrate good teaching practice. They explain ideas to help children grasp new ideas and model skills to encourage them to practise how to do things for themselves. At times, children struggle with their behaviour and need support from staff to help overcome minor upsets between peers. Despite this, staff demonstrate a consistent approach in offering sensitive support to remind children about the rules of the setting.”

The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6.30pm all year round. A team of 17 staff works with the children, 13 of whom hold relevant childcare qualifications, including one who holds qualified teacher and early years professional status.

Funding is accepted for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years.