'Warm, welcoming and inviting' Leeds nursery graded 'outstanding' in all areas by Ofsted

The nursery is based at St Makarios Church Hall on Lawns Lane and has been described by Ofsted as 'warm, welcoming and inviting'.

Catering for children between the ages of 2 and 4, they welcome up to 18 children through their doors on a morning and then again in the afternoon.

Darren Elliott, one of the managing directors, said: "We're only a small team but it's a happy team.

"Everyone enjoys coming in and the attitude of our staff is amazing.

"We've got good staff here, reliable staff, which is part of the success that we've had in supporting families and children that come here.

"We couldn't ask for anything better,"

The nursery was assessed for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, earning an 'outstanding' grade in each category.

Ofsted reported that the children formed 'exceptionally strong bonds' with members of staff at the nursery and that they are excited to get involved with 'the wide range of stimulating experiences on offer'.

The nursery was originally based at Cobden Primary School and continued to serve the Farnley community after moving to a new site in 2019.

Despite the success of the nursery, there are no plans for expansion as part of a determination to prioritise quality over quantity.

Mr Elliott runs the nursery with his wife and fellow managing director Rebecca Elliott, and they are both keen to retain a hands-on approach in Farnley.

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He said: "What we don't want to do is open somewhere else and have one of us go somewhere else. You lose your quality. We don't want that, we want to keep the quality that we've got.

"For two-year-old children, it's really important that you do have the quality and not quantity in our view. The less children you have, the more manageable it is, children can be very demanding.

"Schools have noticed as well that children struggle with separation anxiety and we work very closely with the families to get through that."