A KELTY nursery has gone to the top of the class after a visit from the Care Inspectorate.

Clever Clogs Childcare Centre in Black Road was deemed 'very good' and 'good' after the inspection which took place in September.

Strengths identified including the "warm, nurturing ethos" in the facility.

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The report stated: "Across the nursery, staff have developed consistently responsive, nurturing relationships with children. They give children time, space and support that is appropriate to their stages of development and individual interests.

"As a result, there is a calm, purposeful and positive ethos in the playrooms and outdoors, where children can follow their own lines of enquiry.

"Children are highly motivated and fully engaged in their play activities. They are interested in learning new things, and they ask questions to enrich their understanding. They show perseverance when tackling simple challenges and use materials imaginatively.

"Staff display a good understanding of children’s needs. Staff interactions are warm, patient and encouraging. Where practice is best, staff use questioning effectively to extend discussions."

The report also highlighted that children played well together, shared resources and formed friendships and said the nursery offered stimulating and well-resourced outdoor provision, and the very good use of the local area which encouraged children’s curiosity and investigation.

It noted the nursery’s commitment to working in partnership with parents and carers with regular family learning events put on to help parents to support children’s learning at home.

There were some areas identified for improvement which were for the nursery to develop staff’s high-quality interactions with children more consistently across the playrooms to enable all youngsters to benefit from skilled interventions from staff.

Work will also continue on developing approaches to planning and assessment so staff will gain a clearer understanding of children’s progress over time and enable children to lead aspects of their own learning.