Luton nursery thanks staff for ‘hard work’ after ‘good’ Ofsted report

Mini Stars Childcare LTD was visited by the education regulator at the end of January and was rated ‘good’ in all areas of assessment.

The nursery, based inside the UK Centre for Carnival Arts, was described by inspectors as a “nurturing environment”.

The report, published this month, read: “Children and their parents are warmly greeted by a member of staff on their arrival. This supports a smooth transition into their nursery day. Staff provide a good range of adult-led and child-initiated play. This includes daily opportunities for children to practise their skills and previously learned knowledge.”

Marie Long, owner of the nursery, said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to all the staff at MiniStars Childcare Luton, whom have been with me for many years and always show hard work and complete dedication to care for our children. They all have been extremely open-minded with the right approach and readiness to embrace our new ideas to enhance our provision as well as demonstrating an extremely high level of creativity and originality to ensure that our children have the best learning experience possible."

Staff use an “effective key-person system” and know the children well. The report stated: “They recognise the importance of children feeling emotionally secure and value their relationships with parents. Staff complete ongoing observations of the children to monitor their progress and well-being. This supports staff to understand each child's personality, interests and learning needs.”

Inspectors observed staff supervise the children well and join in their play. But they pointed out an area for improvement. T

They stated: “On occasion, staff do not use spontaneous opportunities to further extend children's thinking, including challenging their physical skills when they play in the outdoor environment.”

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are swiftly identified by staff, who “plan specific activities to support the targets set for each individual child”.

A strength of the nursery was the partnerships it has with the parents. The report stated: “Staff spend time talking to parents and getting to know children's care needs and stage of development before they attend, for example during home visits and settling-in sessions.”