Inspectors pleased with performance of Blydehaven Nursery

Blydehaven Nursery in Lerwick has been praised by inspectors for its excellent standard of care and provision of pre-school education, an achievement it has maintained since its last inspection.

During their visit in November HMIe inspectors assessed five areas: four were graded excellent and the fifth very good. Overall, inspectors found that the children were achieving a high level of success and progressing well in all aspects of their development and learning.

The nursery, which based at Gressy Loan and managed by Shetland College UHI, demonstrated as particular strengths: highly motivated and enthusiastic children and a positive partnership with parents and staff in providing challenging and quality learning experiences for the children. Staff were found to work “exceptionally well” as a team and there was “excellent leadership” of the manager.

Between them they created “a very welcoming and positive learning environment for children and parents”.

The well-being of the 12 children on the nursery’s register was also promoted through encouraging a healthy lifestyle.

Blydehaven’s curriculum, which incorporates two and a half hours of government funded education per day for the children, is identical to that of nursery departments in schools. The emphasis is on play, with literacy and numeracy being developed in an enjoyable way.

Shetland College prinicpal George Smith said: “I am absolutely delighted that the Blydehaven Nursery has achieved this excellent report from HMIe. It is a true recognition of the hard work put in by Marina Eva and her team and all those connected with the nursery. Every time I am in there it is evident how much everyone is enjoying themselves and the amount of learning going on is tremendous.”

A spokeswoman for the SIC’s schools service said: “We recognise the considerable contribution that Blydehaven Nursery makes in the education of our young children and commend the dedication and hard work of the staff, and the leadership of the manager, in providing such a high quality service for children and their families.”

The inspection team was able to rely on the centre’s self-evaluation to make its judgements and as a result, the inspectors were able to change their focus during the visit to help the nursery plan to improve even more. Their only recommendation was to continue to develop the outdoor area to provide children with further opportunities to investigate and explore their environment.

A statement from the inspectors said: “The centre provides a very good quality of education. Therefore, we will make no further visits in connection with this inspection. The education authority will inform parents about the centre’s progress as part of the authority’s arrangements for reporting to parents on the quality of its centre.”