Little Owls Nursery in Danbury rated outstanding by Ofsted

Little Owls Nursery in Danbury has been rated outstanding by Ofsted.

The report was full of praise for the children’s behaviour, the curriculum and staff.

The report reads: “Children arrive and quickly become deeply engaged in their enriching learning environment.

“They thoroughly enjoy the stimulating activities available inside and outdoors, and thrive during their time in the garden and cooperate as they dress for all weathers.”

It continued: “Children behave extremely well. Supportive staff have high expectations of them and children rise to the challenge by following the nursery routine exceptionally well.”

HIGH PRAISE: Little Owls in Danbury was rated Oustanding (Image: N/A)

The report described the curriculum as “rich, meaningful and extremely well sequenced”, adding how leadership is “inspirational”.

It said staff are “exemplary role models and have warm and caring relationships with children”.

Inspector Holly Todd listed children’s favourite activities.

The report said: “Young babies enjoy having a cuddle with their key person when joining for their settling-in visit and older children enjoy exploring and predicting with staff while engaging in a science experiment.”

Nursery owner Mobeen Ashraf said: “It was an extreme honour - like all inspections it’s a bit hair-raising.

“We got outstanding in 2017 which made us nervous and fearful about maintaining that.

“The comments were really nice and the staff are all over the moon, everyone has worked extremely hard.

“I am very proud of the girls and their efforts, as we are only as good as our staff.

“The manager is very good, as well as the deputies and room leaders right down to the apprentice we have.”

FUN AND GAMES: A staff member enjoying some time with a youngster (Image: N/A)

Mr Ashraf continued: “Children and families are at the centre of everything we do.

“We are now looking into looking after the family as a whole, so for example sleep therapy for parents with newborns.

“We have employed a chef who is a nutritional therapist, providing an additional service for parents, helping with nutrition and managing their relationship with food. 

“We are training customers in first aid, so if they’ve got new-borns or children, or if anything happens to them or someone else, they can help and will become useful members of society.

“I think the fact we are really looking after the whole family is something which blew inspectors away, and we are all very proud.”