Shropshire Star

Shrewsbury nursery rated 'good' by Ofsted

A Shrewsbury nursery has been rated 'good' by Ofsted following its latest inspection.

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The Katie's Kids Nursery website

Katie's Kids Nursery, in Monkmoor Road, was praised by inspectors for its strong teaching and ambitious leadership team.

The nursery was opened in 2014 by Katie Wellington and is today run by herself and her two business partners Amy Hagemann and Nick Russell.

Amy said: "The nursery has grown from strength to strength with hard work, fabulous managers and an amazing team, I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved.”

"We have a strong and committed relationship with parents and children and always strive for the best.”

In 2014, the nursery was rated 'inadequate' when the inspector said the children's safety while playing outdoors could not be guaranteed.

The following year it was given a 'good' rating.

Following the inspection this October, Scott Thomas-White said the opportunities provided to children are good and those with additional needs were well supported.

He gave the nursery a 'good' rating in each category and suggested guidance to become 'outstanding'.

The report said: "It is not yet outstanding because staff do not make effective use of the new ongoing assessment system to identify next steps that challenge children to make the best possible progress in their learning.

"Staff are still developing opportunities for parents to contribute to their children's assessments."

Staff and children are now looking ahead to Christmas and will soon receive a visit from Brad Fitt who will be playing Mother Goose in this year's pantomime.

Katie's Kitchen, the part of the nursery where the children take weekly cooking lessons, is sponsoring the pantomime for the fourth year running.

Brad will be opening the nursery's new outdoor area which even features a kitchen with working clay oven which the children use to cook food they have created.

Katie said: "The pantomime is the beginning of Christmas to me. It's one of my favourite nights of the year and we are delighted to be supporting the theatre again this year. It’s wonderful that Brad is coming to help us celebrate this new and exciting chapter for the nursery."