A preschool in Royton where children are 'motivated' and 'curious' learners while staff 'relentlessly' promote positivity has received a glowing Ofsted report.

Red Robin Pre-school which sits in the Gravel Hole Methodist Church on Castleton Road looks after youngsters between two and four and was visited by the education watchdog for a graded inspection in January this year.

Inspector Lois Hulley had heaps of praise for the nursery and while she gave the provision an overall rating of 'good', it was also rated 'outstanding' for its behaviour and attitudes.

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The nursery has strong starting points, the report revealed, as from the moment the children come and settle in to the nursery, staff help them to quickly become confident, keen, motivated and curious learners.

Meanwhile, embedded routines promote the children's safety and security.

Ms Hulley said staff and children share "strong and respectful relationships" and there is a high priority on the children's positive behaviour.

The inspector said staff are "excellent role models", setting clear boundaries for behaviour and consistently using strategies that promote good behaviour.

To this end, she wrote staff's work to promote positive behaviour is "relentless" as they share the same ambition and invest time in helping the children learn how to be social.

This means the youngsters are well mannered and are kind and considerate towards others.

Communication and language development were also highlighted in the report as the inspector found books are shared "in an exciting way" which captures the youngsters' interests, fostering a love of reading.

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are taught how to regulate their emotions, solve problems and develop and sustain relationships to a high standard, all while enjoying an "accessible" curriculum which helps each child to reach their full potential.

As for their physical activity, the preschool's daily 'wake up and shake up' sessions were praised for developing the youngsters' large and small muscles, as well as access to wheeled toys in the playground, while 'magic movement' sessions help them open their lunch boxes to unwrap and eat their food.

In addition, the children learn how to manage other tasks such as sweeping up and putting toys away, which the inspector said was important to develop independence skills required for their futures.

However, the education watchdog did find some "minor weaknesses" in the preschool's teaching of mathematics, meaning the pupils do not make the same excellent progress in this subject that they do in others.

Aside from this, Ms Hulley had nothing but praise for the team, writing the preschool is "very well led and managed" while staff work to "continually improve" the setting while simultaneously feeling valued and well-supported in their roles.

Staff also know the children well which, combined with their understanding of child development, means the children's progress is accurately assessed and "meaningful learning opportunities" are designed "for every child in their care".

She found staff spend "the majority of their time engaging in meaningful conversations with children", tuning into their personal interests to promote learning "at every opportunity".

One example of this is when staff and children investigated the ice that had formed when playing outside and used you hammers to smash the ice while staff utilised the moment to discuss the properties of ice with children.

Moments such as these mean the children "build knowledge incrementally", the inspector added.

The nursery seemingly only narrowly missed out on an 'outstanding' rating as Ms Hulley has given just one area to improve on to bump up the grade which concerns its mathematics lessons.

Still, Red Robin Preschool said it is "over the moon" with the final report.

A spokesperson for the preschool said: "We are extremely delighted and proud to share this great news.

"We feel it reflects the dedication and hard work of our staff team.

"Team Red Robin, flying high!"

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