Bexhill nursery set up 2 years ago rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted

Dragonflies Community Nursery, based at Sidley Children’s Centre, in Ninfield Road, was launched in 2021 by the Bexhill Family Collective CIC.

In their report, Ofsted inspectors rated the nursery as ‘outstanding’ for the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

Inspectors said: “Children flourish at this caring and nurturing nursery. They are excited to arrive, and they settle quickly as they seek out their friends to play with. Babies are extremely well cared for. They are calm in the presence of the sensitive and affectionate adults who they trust and who know them very well.

“Children behave exceptionally well, have exemplary manners and are very kind to each other. They are keen to include adults in their play and display wonderful social skills when meeting new visitors to the nursery.

“Children enjoy a range of exciting and challenging activities. They demonstrate extremely high levels of engagement. Children persevere and are keen to solve problems for themselves. All children make exceptional progress from their starting points. This is due to the highly ambitious and extremely well-sequenced curriculum, that is delivered by a talented and skilled staff team.

“Leaders have very high expectations for children to be ready for their next educational journey and to succeed in life. This particularly applies to those children who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities.”

Dragonflies Community Nursery was set up in March 2021 by Bexhill Family Collective CIC when it took over the early years provision in the area following the county council’s decision to close Bexhill’s children’s centre nurseries.

Heather Winchester, Bexhill Family Collective CEO, said: “We are so happy that we have not only been able to open Dragonflies Community Nursery to support our local community but have continued to provide this service at such a high quality.

“Having this service recognised by Ofsted cements all that we have known from the beginning of this journey, Dragonflies Community Nursery is a truly special place and one we must protect for future generations.”