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‘Delightful and inspiring’ nursery in Wolverhampton rated outstanding

A nursery in Wolverhampton that provides daycare facilities for children aged 2-4 has been rated as outstanding in a recent Ofsted review.

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St. Bartholomew\'s Church Hall in Vicarage Road, Penn, Wolverhampton, where Barts Busy Bees nursery is based. Photo: Google Street View

Barts Busy Bees, based at St Bartholomew’s Church Hall in Vicarage Road, Penn, was previously rated as good following its last inspection in December 2016.

The nursery first registered in 2016 and currently provides term-time care for 24 children, with a total number of 48 places available.

Following the visit, Ofsted bosses described the provision as a “delightful, inspiring environment” where children relished their time.

Inspector Karen Laycock’s report said: “The nursery is a hive of learning, where children engage in a wealth of rich and exciting activities and experiences. They develop a strong sense of belonging, high levels of independence and ‘can-do’ attitudes.

“Children develop a secure knowledge of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. For example, they explain that teeth go bad if you leave the germs on them and learn the importance of good hygiene practices. They are polite and respectful to staff, visitors and friends and are exceptionally kind to each other.

“An understanding of mathematics is superbly promoted by staff at every opportunity. Children use language of size as they play, they learn to count and recognise numbers. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those learning English as an additional language, make rapid progress in their learning.

“The manager and staff have devised a highly inspirational and well-sequenced curriculum, which covers all areas of learning, spikes children’s curiosity and is meticulously matched to children’s learning needs and interests,” she added.

“Meticulous monitoring of children’s progress helps her to identify gaps in children’s learning and development. She ensures rapid intervention when children need extra help and provides effective small-group sessions, one-to-one support and works closely with outside agencies when necessary.”

Six members of staff are employed at the nursery, with four holding an appropriate early years qualification at level 3 to level 4.

“The manager monitors staff performance through regular supervision, peer

reviews and appraisals, to support them to reflect on their practice and to

identify further professional development needs. This results in a highly

motivated and enthusiastic team who are extremely knowledgeable about their role,” said the report.

“Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the ‘brilliant staff’ and talk about the excellent progress their children make, particularly with their language skills and confidence. They say support for children with SEND is a real strength of the nursery.

“The quality of teaching is outstanding. Staff plan for children’s precise learning needs and interests. Their interactions ignite children’s thirst for learning. Staff promote children’s communication skills exceptionally well. For example, they use songs, discussions and stories to introduce a wealth of vocabulary.”

Nursery manager Lorna Moore said: “We are absolutely ecstatic, really pleased about this report. It was a very enjoyable inspection and everyone works so hard here so we couldn’t be happier.”