leahortez86: Nursery fights back to win second 'Outstanding' Ofsted inspection

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Nursery fights back to win second 'Outstanding' Ofsted inspection

A NURSERY school placed in special measures a decade ago has fought back to secure its second successive 'outstanding' Ofsted inspection.

Kingsland Nursery School, in Bucknall, was being closely monitored by Ofsted in the early 2000s before coming out of special measures in 2004.

Staff received their first 'outstanding' report in 2008 and now it has received top marks again following an inspection in March.

Headteacher Nicola Mulliner said teamwork between the staff had led to the consistent success of the nursery.

Mrs Mulliner, who has been at the Eaves Lane nursery since September 2005, said: "To have an 'outstanding' Ofsted report twice in a row is a real achievement and that's what we want celebrating.

"We don't do it for the accolade, but for the parents and the children.

"We have great relationships on all levels, not just between the staff and the children, but between the children themselves."

Inspectors praised the nursery for offering the "highest standard of care alongside excellence in learning".

Their inspection report continues: "The nursery reviews its work rigorously and is determined not to rest on its laurels in its pursuit of excellence.

"The children receive excellent care, guidance and support from expertly caring staff."

The inspectors looked at the work of the nursery's 10 employees as well as talking to some of the parents of the 60 children.

In a questionnaire every parent said their child enjoyed attending the nursery.

Early years practitioner Anne Dranko first attended the then Townsend Nursery School as a 16-year-old in 1972 and became a permanent member of staff in 1978.

She said it was the dedication of the nursery which had added to the recent success.

This included the nursery's decision to send nearly half of its staff to world-renowned Reggio Emilia, in Italy, to learn about pre-school education philosophy.

She said: "How we work now is very different to how we worked when I joined. "We work together more as a nursery now.

"The teamwork has come together and we have a lot of meetings.

"If anything crops up which isn't working we decide how to make it better.

"I went to Reggio Emilia four years ago and I never thought I'd get the chance to go as a early years practitioner.

"It gave us inspiration to think about our community which influenced us in building our bottle kiln outside."

The bottle kiln is an outside communication classroom, which has voice-sensitive lights and has received special praise in the Ofsted report.

Youngsters today praised their 'outstanding' nursery.

Four-year-old Nathan Edwards, of Abbey Hulton, said: "I like coming here to play with all my friends and I like all the teachers."

Lewis Dickin, aged four, of Bucknall, added: "I enjoy coming to the nursery. My favourite thing is playing with the toy dinosaurs. I also liked making flags for the royal wedding."

Mrs Mulliner added: "We always get informal feedback, but to have to written down is great.

"The bottle kiln was highlighted by Ofsted. We wanted to celebrate what Stoke-on-Trent was all about.

"We try to go the extra mile and take the time out to highlight significant events like Children in Need, Red Nose Day and now the royal wedding. The children all dress up and the staff do as well which shows their commitment.

"They're proud to work here and the parents are proud to bring their children here."