Eastbourne nursery rated 'good' by Ofsted

Maggie's Day Nursery, in Pevensey Road, was given the rating after an inspection in August.

Inspectors found that the school was ‘good’ in all areas – including: behaviour; personal development; leadership and management, and early years provision.

The report said: “Children appear happy, independent and safe.

"Staff set high expectations for children's behaviour and manners, and children enjoy spending time with staff.

“Staff know what they want children to learn and are good at adapting teaching to suit the needs of children, including those with SEND, while they play.”

The nursery ‘provides a safe, calm, homely environment’ for children aged from three-months-old to five-years-old, according to its website.

Speaking about the outcome of the inspection, Margaret Padmore, co-owner of the nursery, said: “We are thrilled with our recent Ofsted inspection which rated us ‘good’.

"We are very proud of the hard work our staff team put into making it such a success.

“We do have free funded places available and hope that our ‘good’ Ofsted rating will reassure our families that their precious children are in good hands.”

The nursery helps children to ’express themselves' and ‘develop their self-awareness and self-esteem’, according to Ofsted.

"Children's unique personalities are valued and their interests encouraged, by caring and nurturing staff,” the inspector added.

According to the report, to improve the quality of the nursery’s provision, it should ‘develop the curriculum intent with staff’ and improve its ‘key-person system’ – in which children are allocated a member of staff who supports their learning and development.

Pupils are encouraged to bring in their favourite book from home to share with their friends, which ‘helps begin a life-long love of books for the children and their families’, according to the report.

The inspector added: "Children love listening to staff who sing and read them stories.

“[They] build good relationships with one another and with the friendly staff. They develop their independence skills and self-confidence.”

Ofsted added that there is an ‘open and positive culture’ around safeguarding that ‘puts children’s interests first’.