A 'nurturing' nursery in Saddleworth where children 'thrive' has slipped down a grade, according to the education watchdog.

Diggle Day Nursery and Education Centre Ltd on Huddersfield Road looks after infants and youngsters up to four years old and has been considered an 'outstanding' provider for almost six years.

However, the nursery lost its exceptional grade following a routine Ofsted inspection.

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Inspector Chris Scully visited the premises in November this year and had plenty of praise over the leadership of the provision and the children's behaviour.

He wrote: "Staff create a warm, interesting and nurturing environment in which children thrive."

When it came to staff, Mr Scully said the team are "generally ambitious" and "intuitive" in that they know when to step in to provide additional support to children, supporting them to "persevere at more complex tasks".

The teachers also have "high aspirations" for the children's behaviour, taking time to get to know them while working with parents to learn about their likes and dislikes to build an "exciting curriculum".

Staff told the inspector that they feel valued and that the nursery gives a high priority to their well-being, training and support, meaning they have the necessary skills and knowledge for their roles.

Mr Scully wrote that the children come to the nursery "happily" and are "kind and considerate" to their friends and others.

The report continued that the children's conversations and laughter "resonate" throughout the nursery and that they "are their friends' biggest advocates", often helping one another when struggling to complete a task or cheering "in delight" when they succeed.

Mr Scully said: "This successfully fosters children's confidence and self-esteem."

Communication, mathematics and a love of reading were also highlighted in the report as key strengths.

The inspector revealed staff are "skilled communicators", asking interesting questions and introducing new words while maths is "firmly embedded" into daily routines and activities.

Mr Scully found staff also regularly read books to the children who "curl up in the book corner" while older children talk about the different parts of a book.

As for their physical development, the nursery has an "exciting outdoor curriculum" with several toys and play equipment to strengthen the children's muscles, coordination and imagination.

The nursery also helps the children to be as "independent as possible", by putting on their coats and serving themselves at lunchtime, and they learn how to stay fit and well by eating healthily.

In addition, parents praised the nursery, saying staff are "kind", "caring" and "enthusiastic".

However, the inspector did find one area of weakness and advised the nursery to make some improvements to move back up to the 'outstanding' grade.

While the report revealed the curriculum is "balanced" and "carefully sequenced", staff "occasionally" do not implement its ambitious intentions and the children do not fully engage with the activities.

Mr Scully said Diggle Day Nursery should "strengthen the curriculum so that it is ambitious for all children and meets their needs".

He gave the setting a 'good' grade overall after assessing four key areas of criteria. 

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