Achievements and Working in Partnership

We are registered with Ofsted and have a "Good" rating.  We are Gold members of the National Day Nurseries Association and we hold the Kirklees Healthy Choice Gold Award for the high standards of our food hygiene and healthy options on our menus.  We have a 5 Star ***** excellent rating awarded by Kirklees Environmental Health.  

The Kirklees Healthy Choice Gold standard is based on the high percentage of homemade food and the balanced and varied options including a good quantity of foods from each of the main food groups for under 5’s. We work closely with Kirklees Early Years and we have an excellent relationship with the team.

National Day Nurseries Association is the national charity and membership association specifically for nurseries.  NDNA provides nursery support, information and advice, childcare training and quality improvement scheme, e-Quality Counts.  We support nurseries and the early years workforce so that they can provide best-quality childcare and early learning for children. We receive very positive feedback from Kirklees in relation to the high standards we adopt and achieve within the nursery and our efforts to continuously raise our standards of care and education.  We work in partnership with Birkenshaw First School and other schools and provide written reports for children who attend nursery sessions at both Birkenshaw Kindergarten and in schools.  In addition when children leave our nursery and start school we provide a full transfer report to ensure the school is provided with information about the learning and educational development of the children that have been in our care.

Here are just a few of our parent testimonials......

Our last Ofsted inspection was undertaken in May 2011 when we attained a "Good" rating. 

Extracts of the report are highlighted below.

The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

 The setting provides a stimulating environment where children's welfare is effectively supported and promoted. Efficient procedures followed by staff ensure children are safeguarded very well. Children make good progress in their learning and development and enjoy their time at the setting. A positive approach to inclusion ensures children's individual needs are identified and taken into account. Partnerships with parents, other providers and agencies are purposeful. The setting demonstrates a strong commitment to continuous improvement through continually developing self-evaluation and monitoring systems.

The effectiveness of leadership and management of the early years provision

Children are safeguarded well because staff have attended training and they follow the good policies and procedures that are in place to help them protect children. Furthermore, robust recruitment procedures ensure adults are suitable to work with children. Risk assessments are very thorough and cover all aspects of the setting including outings to ensure risks to children are minimised. All the required documentation and records that underpin the setting are well maintained.

Children benefit from the good relationships established with parents to enhance continuity of care. Parents receive good information about the nursery, such as, an information booklet, policies and procedures and regular newsletters. There is also useful information for parents displayed on the walls throughout the nursery and they can access the website. Parents comment on how pleased they are with the way staff are helping their children to achieve. They are confident in leaving their children in the nursery and appreciate the information they receive about their child's care and progress through regular chats and parents evenings. Parents are encouraged to add their comments to their child's development files and some share what their child achieves at home. The nursery has good strategies in place to liaise with external agencies to ensure children receive the level of support they need. Procedures are in place to forge working relationships with local schools in order to ease children's transitions onto the next stage of their learning journey.

 The quality and standards of the early years provision and outcomes for children

 Children participate in a range of activities and play opportunities, which promote their development across generally well across the areas of learning. They enjoy a good balance of self-chosen and adult-led opportunities, both indoors and outside. Staff support children's learning well, offering high levels of praise and encouragement, which boosts their confidence and self-esteem. The newly developed planning system, which is still evolving, takes into consideration children's interests and individual abilities. Staff are currently focusing on developing the short term planning. Generally, good systems are in place to record children's learning and development. Staff ensure they gain an insight into children's starting points, on which they are able to plan future learning opportunities. Regular ongoing observation and assessment of children's progress and the identification of next steps encourage children to make good progress within their learning journeys.

Children are learning how to keep healthy and stay safe. They benefit from daily opportunities to be physically active and enjoy the slide, climbing frame and wheeled resources, which enables them to develop their physical skills. The setting has the Kirklees Healthy Choice Gold Standard Award, which means that children enjoy healthy snacks and meals. Food is cooked daily on the premises and is prepared from locally sourced produce. Children learn about good hygiene practices through everyday activities. They happily talk about washing the germs from their hands down the drain and they brush their teeth so that they are 'shiny and sparkly'. Fire drills are held regularly within the setting to enable children to understand what to do in an emergency. Children also learn about how to keep safe when crossing roads and how to use equipment safely, such as, slides.