The head of a St Albans nursery rated 'good' by Ofsted has said that the report reflects their hard work.

Wainscot House Day Nursery was rated 'good' in all areas assessed by the education watchdog.

During the last inspection six years ago, the nursery was rated 'outstanding', but principal Julie Duffey told the Herts Ad that "the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum changed in 2021 alongside the grading descriptors to reflect these changes".

She says that the inspector told her that staff had worked hard to maintain the standards since 2018 and that the 'good' rating is equivalent to the 'outstanding' received last time.

The report starts out strong by saying that "children are happy and settled in the nursery."

Inspectors say that they quickly build "strong and trusting relationships with staff", as well as highlighting that babies snuggle up with staff to share books before sleeping.

The report praises the nursery for fostering a love of books and reading in the children from a very young age.

Praise is also given to the way staff work well together, and the "calm and harmonious environment around the nursery".

The report also is full of praise for how the transition to older age groups and eventually primary school is managed.

It says: "When children are ready to move to the next group or leave to go to school, staff support them to help them get used to new routines and different people and environments.

"Children visit their new group for short periods of time and experience familiar routines in the day, such as mealtimes, in their new room before they spend all their time there."

On the more critical side, it was noted that the enthusiasm of staff means that children "sometimes do not have time to identify and solve problems for themselves."

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The report notes that the nursery leaves room for improvement in giving parents "adequate and clear information" to help them support children's progress at home.

On safeguarding, the report says that "there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first."

In a letter to parents shared with the Herts Ad, the nurseries proprietor Julie Prowse wrote: "We are thrilled to be rated 'good' in all areas. 

"The inspector has identified the strength and dedication of the staff team in supporting children to learn, to the extent that practitioners can sometimes be a little too enthusiastic! For us, this just means that the staff’s passion shines through!"