Good Ofsted for Wymondham nursery

Just six months after celebrating its grand opening the owners of a Wymondham nursery have something else to raise a glass to.

The Mulberry Bush Day Nursery has been awarded an overall 'good' rating by Ofsted inspectors who have also deemed its commitment to ongoing improvement as 'phenomenal'.

The nursery, which is housed inside a converted chapel at St Edmunds, in Norwich Green, is the brainchild of two enterprising mothers, Jo Billham and Ros Cutts, who wanted to increase child care facilities in the town.

The nursery currently caters for up to 27 children aged between three months and five-years-old and by 2012 Jo and Ros expect to have completed extensions to the building with facilities including a purpose built baby and toddler unit.

They said it was an 'astounding achievement' for a new nursery to receive such a positive assessment, which also included four 'outstanding' ratings for its leadership, self-evaluation, engagement with parents and the extent to which children feel safe.

'We have a very strong team at the nursery with a wide range of experiences. It was great that the inspector could see the genuinely strong bonds that the practitioners develop with the children,' said Jo.

'As mums ourselves we are only too aware of how important it is to find the right care and education for your child. We listen to what families want and aim to meet their child's needs as far as we are able.'

The Ofsted report praised the 'excellent consideration' staff give to children's safety, their 'exemplary' relationship with parents and the encouragement shown towards newcomers.

However it said additional staff resources and specialist equipment were not easily on hand when children with disabilities played outdoors and youngsters should have more access to technologies.

To read the full Ofsted report, visit www.ofsted.gov.uk