The Maples Nursery in Barking has been told by Ofsted to spread their good practice following the outcome of a recent inspection.

The Barking nursery, which opened in May 2017, has been rated Outstanding by Ofsted in a rare scenario for an early years setting to receive the top recognition for its first inspection. 

Inspectors visited the nursery last month and were impressed with the well organised environment and the ‘exceptionally strong’ relationship between parents and staff. 

 “This is great news and is another example of the council providing the best start to life for our young children.”

During the visit, inspectors noted how well the team worked together along with a high standard of skill levels. The report said: ‘They cohesively use their teaching knowledge exceptionally well to support children's learning and development.’

Due to the organisation of the setting, inspectors commented on how; ‘the children demonstrate a well embedded understanding of the routines. They confidently say what they are doing next and why. There is a consistent approach across the entire team of modelling positive interaction. As a result, children show high levels of respect for each other and are extremely well behaved’.

Councillor Evelyn Carpenter, Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement, was pleased with the outcome of the Ofsted report: “This is great news and is another example of the council providing the best start to life for our young children.

“Many congratulations to all the staff, children and parents at the Maples Nursery for this recognition:  they should feel very proud.”

Inspectors also recognised that staff make accurate assessments of the children’s starting points and use this information, alongside the children’s interests, to plan highly stimulating activities that help them make speedy progress in their development. 

The report included one recommendation from the inspectors which was to: ‘consider ways to share exemplary practice with leaders of other local settings, to help promote high-quality standards of care for young children in early years provision.’