Little Stars over the moon after Ofsted inspection

The nursery, in Ascot Way, Rustington, was rated ‘good’ in all areas by inspector Jill Steer, who described the team as “good teachers”.

In her report, Ms Steer said of the staff: “They are attentive and assess when their support is needed and when to allow children to find out what they can do themselves. They make learning enjoyable and plan activities that meet all children’s interests.”

One activity – a game of What’s The Time, Mr Wolf – saw the youngsters demonstrate their fledgling maths skills by counting the steps needed until ‘dinner time’!

Thanks to their dedication, children were seen to be developing “many important skills” as they prepared for the step up to primary school.

Manager Kirstie Smith said of the report: “We were over the moon with the result and had worked really hard for it.

“The team and I are very proud of it. We are really please that it highlighted the teaching being so child-led and good.”

Ms Steer praised the support given by managers as they helped staff to constantly improve.

Kirstie said she was “so very proud” of her team and added: “As a manager, myself and my deputy work closely with the team to ensure the nursery is as strong as we can make it and the children are always safe, happy and learning.

“Currently we have more children ahead in their development than behind so we are very proud of that, and Ofsted felt it was testimony to our teaching.”

One of the areas highlighted for further improvement was the need for children to develop their awareness of which foods were healthy – a topic Kirstie and her team had well in hand.

She said: “We have started to do hot lunches and they are going down really well and we have started to do a healthy eating topic with the children incorporating books, the children are loving it and we are going to be doing healthy lifestyle workshops within the nursery. We are already putting our ideas into place!”

To read the report in full, log on to the Ofsted website.

Make the right choice for you and your child - Visit educationsussex.com for trusted school reviews, videos and so much more.