07-07-2025
Nursery where children are happy is told to improve by Ofsted
A nursery where children are happy has been told it needs to improve by the education watchdog.
Cherry Blossom Education Ltd in Harwood was placed in the requires improvement category by Ofsted.
It was previously rated good in 2022.
Every area of the nursery — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management were all said to require improvement.
The Ofsted inspector did note many positives in the nursery, including that children are "settled and happy at the nursery".
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The report stated: "Staff at the nursery are enthusiastic about teaching and playing with the children."
Adding: "Staff develop close relationships with children.
"Babies benefit from the caring interactions from their special key person in nursery. Staff ensure they know the children well and what helps them to feel secure. This helps children to feel settled and safe in the care of staff."
Staff were said to be "skilful in tuning into how children feel" and activities help children "to become confident communicators".
Mostly, staff were found to promote children's personal development well but Ofsted found that at times staff are too eager to help children which "does not develop children's skills well or support them to persist at completing tricky tasks for themselves".
The Ofsted inspection found: "Children adore using the nursery's well-equipped outdoor play area. They develop strong muscles when balancing, jumping, sliding and climbing."
But Ofsted found that although leaders have a clear understanding of their intentions for children's learning and development, it is not evident enough in practice.
The report stated: "For example, some staff provide activities that are less effective at building children's knowledge than intended.
"Some staff do not recognise when there are gaps in children's learning of key knowledge. This means that children do not receive a consistently good quality of education at the nursery."
The report stated: "Staff at the nursery are enthusiastic about teaching and playing with the children.
"However, the provider has not ensured that all staff have the skills and knowledge to deliver the intended curriculum effectively. Staff observe children and plan activities in response to children's interests. However, some activities lack purpose and do not build on children's previous learning well."
The inspector also noted: "Staff at the nursery are not supported well enough in their work.
"They report that their workload and well-being is not considered well. This impacts on how staff feel about their personal effectiveness and happiness in the workplace."
