A March nursery praised for its effective safeguarding, enthusiastic staff and having a manager who continually aspires to improve has been rated good in all areas by Ofsted.

The Willows Day Nursery at 50 Knight’s End Road received the ‘good’ rating in all four areas: effectiveness of the leadership and management; quality of teaching, learning and assessment; personal development, behaviour and welfare; and outcomes for children.

The report praises “well-qualified” manager Hayley Carver for being “very reflective and continually aspiring to further improve practice and provision”.

The inspector, Marie Walker, said “partnerships with parents are strong” thanks to “frequent information about the good progress their children are making.

The report also states “staff meet children’s individual needs well and prioritise their welfare; for example, they cater for children with a varity of allergies and dietary requirements”.

To improve further, the nursery should “enhance teaching practice to allow children more time to respond to questions and develop their critical-thinking skills” and “make even better use of observations to assess and plan precisely for children’s next steps in learning”.

The nursery employs 12 members of childcare staff including one with a Level 5 early years qualification, one at Level 4 and seven at Level 3.

The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 6.30pm.

The Ofsted inspection was carried out on January 24.