Leeds nursery ‘absolutely thrilled’ as it turns ‘requires improvement’ Ofsted rating around

Honey Bee Nursery on Newton Hill Road in Chapel Allerton was praised after being visited by an Ofsted reporter in April this year.

One of the directors, Dr Razaq Raj, said he was “absolutely thrilled” with the “tremendously good result” for the community-run nursery, which has an emphasis on providing services for those from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds.

He said that the nursery went through a “difficult period during Covid” that had resulted in the two “requires improvement” ratings in 2021 and 2022.

In its summary of how the nursery performed during the recent visit, the Ofsted inspector writes: “Children excitedly enter the welcoming nursery and quickly settle after staff warmly welcome them. Children play happily, demonstrating how safe and secure they feel.

"New children quickly develop confidence to join in with activities because of staff's reassurance and support.”

It also states that “all children make good progress and develop fundamental skills for school” and pointed to the work done to support children who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The report states that children “are well behaved and independent”, adding: “Staff continually observe and assess children's progress, and they promptly identify and support any early developmental concerns. They focus strongly on key foundations for children's future learning, such as their early speech. This is of paramount importance given that the majority of the children attending speak English as an additional language or are bilingual.”

The investigator found that there are “strong relationships” between staff and families, who celebrate events together, and that activities that enable children to have a positive impact to the community, such as litter picking, are arranged.

In terms of where the nursery could improve, the report states that it needs to “strengthen the outdoor curriculum” and “expand and ignite the oldest and most-able children's learning” by challenging them further.

One of the nursery’s managers, Nafeesa Talbot, said that the nursery arranges outdoor activities with the children so that they can connect to nature, adding: “We have been doing a lot of work to improve the nursery and professional development of staff.”