Wokingham

The Blue Bird Nursery Centre, in Finchampstead, Wokingham has become the first early years setting in Wokingham district to be rated “outstanding” by Ofsted.

The Wokingham nursery, which has only been open for a year, had its first inspection in November 2005 and was judged to achieve an exceptionally high quality in its care and education of pre-school age children.

Children were seen to be “highly stimulated and inspired by the excellent range of resources available to them.”

There are 94 children on roll at the nursery, with a maximum of 52 children in attendance at any one time. The setting makes provision for children with special needs and those who speak English as a second language.

Inspectors were impressed with the children’s use of resources. “They join in a diverse range of exploratory and sensory experiences. For example, investigating what sand feels like if you add water and then exploring what you can do with wet sand.”

Nursery education at the Wokingham centre was particularly praised. “Staff are skilful in using techniques to bring a story alive… [children] enjoy re-enacting “Goldilocks” and use different tones of voice to represent each bear.”

According to inspectors, the children play well together and develop negotiating skills, organising such activities as sweeping up leaves, and accurately use numbers and mathematical language in their games.

Children go on outings to places of interest such as the post office and mobile library, and there are regular visitors to the Wokingham nursery. Indian dancers came in to celebrate Diwali and the children made Indian sweets. The report says that this approach “fosters children’s spiritual, moral and cultural development well.”

Staff at Blue Bird Nursery Centre work closely with Nine Mile Ride Primary School, where the centre is situated. They also liase with the early years and childcare service at Wokingham District Council, and follow the principles for the foundation stage in Wokingham, which ensure that all children are included, valued, secured and respected.

“I am delighted to congratulate the nursery on this great success,” said Cllr Frank Browne, executive member for children’s services. “It reflects the hard work put in by staff during the nursery’s first year, and affirms the high standards our nurseries can achieve.”

Diana Kilding and Charlotte Wilkinson are joint directors of the nursery centre. “We are absolutely delighted,” said Diana. “We only had about twelve children at the beginning, but the nursery has grown so fast. This confirms that we are doing exactly what we set out to do.”

Wokingham District Council