Staff and Children at Tops Copnor, located at Pompey Health and Fitness Club, are pleased to be celebrating a GOOD rating from Ofsted following their recent inspection.

According to the Ofsted report, ‘Children arrive happily to the nursery. They are greeted by friendly, welcoming staff who help them to settle in to play. Children form close relationships with key staff, which helps them to feel safe and secure. Children freely explore the inviting play environment and access from a range of unique and stimulating resources that are set out’

The report also noted that; ‘Children follow and understand the setting’s rules, with some gentle reminders from staff. They behave well and are incredibly polite. Children are making good progress in their learning. This is due to leaders and staff having high expectations for children’s development. Children have great fun learning in the outdoor environment. They splash in puddles, make a dinosaur swamp with sand and rainwater and stamp in the wet sand in the sand pit’

The inspector said: “Baby room staff provide plenty of activities. Staff know what children need to learn next. They use information from parents and what they see children do at the setting to provide well thought out experiences. For example, children’s preferred ways of learning are promoted as staff set up resources for children to develop their skills in rolling balls and mixing powdered paint to make gloop. Children have immense fun as they chase the balls along chutes and splash their hands into the mixture. They squeal with delight as they splash themselves and the staff who fully join in with the activity”.

 “All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and the most vulnerable children make good progress. The manager and the special educational needs coordinator work well with external agencies and responds to advice quickly. Regular meetings with professionals and parents mean any gaps in learning are identified quickly and additional funding used effectively”.

Jenny Gibbs, nursery manager at Tops Copnor said: “I could not be prouder of the team here at Copnor. We have had a difficult few years being located in a gym during the pandemic. Luckily as part of the Tops family our children and staff were able to relocate to other local Tops nurseries.

Since returning in April 2021 we have grown our numbers with some wonderful new staff, and still maintained our family feel and focus on the children”.

Tops Day Nurseries have over 30 nurseries across the South and Southwest. The award-winning childcare provider offers early education and care for children aged 3 months to school age, as well as before, after-school and holiday clubs for children up to 11.

To view the full report please click here.