Another 'Outstanding' Ofsted for Tarnerland

Tarnerland Nursery School continues to be rated ‘Outstanding’ after its most recent Ofsted School inspection.

The nursery recognises the care and education children receive is of the highest quality and maintains the grade awarded at each of its five inspections since 2002.

It is a particular celebration as the strict criteria of achieving ‘Outstanding’ in a full school inspection gets more and more difficult to achieve. 

Tarnerland is a busy and diverse nursery school in the centre of Brighton, for over 180 children from three months to five years. It is funded by the Local Education Authority in partnership with the council and is part of the Tarner Children’s Centre.

The inspectors, who visited in March 2018 said: “Children make outstanding progress. Provision for children to learn through purposeful play, in all areas of learning both indoors and outside, is outstanding. Staff nurture children with great sensitivity, lending confidence to their learning. Children learn and play together harmoniously. The ethos of care and sharing has a profound impact on children’s social skills, behaviour and progress.”

They specifically praised the adults’ engagement with children: “They talk calmly and with kindness, using language and conversation expertly to develop children’s speaking and listening skills. All have high expectations of children’s behaviour and are excellent role models for children to learn from.”

Nursery Headteacher Julie Plumstead said: “We’re absolutely delighted that our outstanding Ofsted grading reflects the commitment and contribution of work that every single member of the team put in. That includes our caretaker, our administrators, our governors, and of course, every single nursery practitioner.

“Our Outstanding Ofsted grading needs particular celebration in this climate of decreasing funding and increasing costs.

“We have a really strong key person system, giving each child outstanding care and education, and we give really focused support to our vulnerable groups, particularly with speech and language delay.

“The quality of care and learning the inspector saw on the day of the inspection happens at Tarnerland every single day. We are all really lucky to be working in such a magnificent place.”

Hear more from Julie and other members of the nursery team in our video.