Melton children's nursery celebrates 'good' Ofsted rating

The Asfordby Road-based nursery, which has 111 youngsters currently enrolled, was praised for its safeguarding procedures and its relationships with families.

The inspection was the first to take place since the new nursery manager, Deanna Leman, took over in February.

She was commended for her ‘enthusiastic and passionate’ leadership and for enabling each child to make the best progress possible.

Commenting on the report, Deanna said: “After the unprecedented difficulties of the pandemic, we have been working non-stop to ensure that the nursery provides a fantastic environment for children to learn, play and grow.

"So we’re all delighted to see that this has been recognised by Ofsted in this report.

"We also see it reflected in the number of parents sending their children to Woodlands to give them a great start before school.”

The inspector, Alexandra Brouder, found that the nursery had made real progress since its previous report rated it as ‘inadequate’ overall.

Woodlands is based in an attractive outdoor environment and this is embraced by the nursery, the Ofsted inspector said.

Her report stated: “A particular strength of this setting is the access children have to the outdoors.

"Consequently, children have good physical skills and have confidence to try new things.”

As well as an overall effectiveness rating of ‘good’, the inspector found that Woodlands was ‘good’ in all the areas of assessment, quality of education,

behaviour and attitudes, personal development, plus leadership and management.

The report highlighted some areas where the school could improve before the next inspection.

It should ‘consider the needs of every child during forest school activities, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to ensure every child is

challenged and engaged appropriately’, according to the inspector.

She also reported that the nursery should ‘manage transitions more effectively, particularly after meals, to enable children to be able to concentrate and focus their attention more effectively’.

Woodlands cares for children aged up to four throughout the year, with an out-of-school club for primary school aged children.