A WINCHESTER nursery is celebrating after receiving a 'good' rating from Ofsted,

Eco Montessori, based in St Johns Street, was given its new rating following the inspection, which took place in April, and has recently been made public.

The news has been welcomed by management and staff, who say they have worked hard to turn its fortunes around after it was criticised for failing to safeguard those in its care at an inspection last year.

In July 2021, The Lido Nursery School and Activity Club, owned by the same company Hartley House Montessori, closed when inspectors found that it had failed to resolve welfare concerns.

However, the latest inspection has seen improvements and inspectors praised the centre for its activities and happy children.

The report said: “Children are happy and safe at the nursery. They are independent and explore their surroundings with ease. Children choose activities from a well organised environment which challenges their thinking and allows them to test out their play.

“Parents speak highly of the nursery. They value the very good communication and information sharing about their children’s learning. Parents say that their children ‘adore’ coming to nursery and want to ‘move’ in.

“The leadership team provides very good support to the staff. They promote training opportunities inside the nursery as well as external courses to help staff develop their skills and understanding of a wide variety of practice issues. The staff all complement each other and have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities.”

The report addressed the improvements that had been made. It said: “The leadership team have made significant improvements since the last inspection. They have taken action to address the previous safeguarding concerns.

“Regular supervision takes place and staff have undertaken extra training.”

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Nursery manager Jilly Pearce said: “We are delighted the variety of activities as well as the team calibre on offer at our nursery has been recognised in this positive Ofsted report.

“We will continue to strive for excellence and make further improvements as we move forward.”

The nursery's director, Susan Hartley-Raven said: “I am thrilled and delighted with this wonderful outcome. Our dedicated team has worked so hard under the excellent management and guidance of Miss Pearce to take the nursery forward and achieve our good rating.

“We are excited to move forward offering our wonderful hobbies and sunshine session programme and continuing to be a home from home nursery, nurturing our children to be the best version of themselves.

“The Montessori method of education prepares children for primary school as well as offering them skills for life. Our passion is real experiences blended with an eco emphasis in the Montessori context, this allows us to move forward into the future with sustainably at the our heart of our practice.”

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