Staff at two nursery schools in Bradford are celebrating being given a top grade by Ofsted for the fourth inspection in a row – meaning they have been rated as outstanding for ten years.
Lilycroft Nursery School and Midland Road Nursery School have both been judged to be outstanding in new reports praising the quality of early years education they provide.
For both nursery schools it is the fourth consecutive time they have achieved this – having first been rated as outstanding back in 2007 in their first inspections after this top grade was created by Ofsted.
Ofsted inspectors praise Midland Road for using its funding innovatively “through dance and outdoor play and teachers have woven the areas of learning skilfully into these session”.
The school employs a dance specialist and a forest school specialist to deliver these sessions and was able to demonstrate the significant impact on children’s learning and progress.
Parents say the nursery school is “brilliant” and staff are “excellent at treating children as individuals, developing their interest and helping them to make progress.”
Headteacher Sharon Hogan said: “I was delighted that the inspector recognised that the staff team is a strength of the school. We have a great mixture of experienced and younger colleagues who together ensure that Midland Road not only continues to be outstanding after so many years but has also been able to grow and expand the work that it does.”
Lilycroft Nursery School is also given glowing praise in its new report published today. Inspectors say the school provides high quality teaching and provision for three and four-year-olds.
The report says Lilycroft staff have created “a safe, warm and exciting place for children to be. Parents say how excited their children are about coming to school.”
It adds: “Teachers plan effectively to offer open-ended activities which allow children to take their learning as far as they are able, and children have the confidence to do this.”
It also praises the school for working hard to involve parents in their child’s reading and supporting them to do this effectively. Inspectors say parents have valued this support and comment on how well their children are progressing, particularly with language development.
The two inspection reports mean that more than half of the nursery schools in the Bradford district are judged to be outstanding with the others all judged to be good.
Two other Bradford nursery schools have been rated as outstanding by Ofsted. Canterbury Nursery and Centre for Children and Families, was given this rating earlier this year and St Edmunds’s Nursery School and Children’s Centre was rated as outstanding at its inspection last year – for the third time in a row.
Anne-Marie Merifield, who is executive head at both Lilycroft and St Edmund’s said: “Our successful Ofsted reports show the impact nursery schools can have. For us it shows the importance of having qualified teachers working with children to give them a good grounding so that they are able to make the most of school when they start their formal education.”
Coun Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Education, Employment and Skills said: “These reports are a credit to everyone involved at Lilycroft and Midland Road Nursery Schools. It is great to see that all of the nursery schools in the Bradford district are rated as good or outstanding giving us a great foundation to build upon.”
Bradford Parents On The Go 