Despite the challenges of Covid-19, nurseries across the country haven’t stopped in their work in delivering safe and excellent childcare services.

Bright Horizons at Manchester Day Nursery and Preschool has been doing just that and was recently rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted during its most recent inspection.

It was rated ‘Outstanding’ in all four areas of inspection:

• The quality of education.
• Behaviour and attitudes.
• Personal development.
• Leadership and management.

To achieve this rating, the inspector carried out a thorough evaluation of the nursery which included observing interactions between staff and children, both indoors and outdoors.

Some of the comments in the official report included:

• The quality of education offered at this setting is excellent. Staff and the management team work expertly together to deliver challenging, individual, engaging activities for all children. Staff tailor activities to reflect children’s interests and promote all seven areas of learning. They use their creativity and knowledge to design an enthralling environment to ignite the curiosity of every child. For example, children are amazed when their classroom is transformed into the ‘emerald city’. They giggle and skip together down the ‘yellow brick road’. Children enter the setting enthusiastically, eager to learn.
• Parents offer the highest praise for this setting. They commend the ‘genuinely caring’ staff. Parents value the management team and comment that the ‘level of communication with us is fantastic’. Parents feel confident and assured that their children are receiving ‘the best start to life’ here.
• Communication between staff is exemplary and worthy of dissemination. When accommodating children’s additional needs, staff follow robust systems. For example, during lunchtime, staff read ingredients of meals out loud to three colleagues before serving children food. Key persons sit directly with children who have any allergies or dietary needs. This means all dishes are intrinsically checked before children begin to eat. This helps to ensure their health needs and dietary choices are respected.

Nursery manager, Chloe Barwick, commented:

‘We are over the moon to have achieved Outstanding at our Ofsted inspection in March. I am proud that the passion of the staff team has shone through and that our commitment to ensuring children have the best start to life has been recognised. The voice of the children and the partnerships we build with our parents are of utmost importance to us in ensuring we support every child’s individual needs and that every child within our care thrives.’