Sheffield Hallam University Nursery where ‘children thrive’ rated Outstanding in all areas by Ofsted

A Sheffield nursery set up to care for the children of staff and students of one of the city’s universities has been rated ‘Outstanding’ in all areas.

Sheffield Hallam University Nursery, in Broomgrove Road, is a daycare nursery for children of learners at the Collegiate Campus and the staff who teach them.

Now, students and professors can have peace of mind their little ones are in good hands in light of a glowing Ofsted report.

Inspectors said: “Children thrive at this caring and nurturing nursery. They thoroughly enjoy the activities and experiences that are on offer to them.

“Children’s confidence is evident as they happily chat with their peers, staff and visitors, sharing their experiences. Children demonstrate high levels of respect for one another. They are highly motivated to join in, share and cooperate with each other.”

The faultless report comes after SHU Nursery was rated Good in all areas in 2017. The new grading is the best Ofsted can give and now makes the daycare one of the best-rated in Sheffield.

The education watchdog repeatedly praised staff for engaging children in meaningful ways by offering them real-world experiences, involving them with small responsibilities and a “rich vocabulary”, and rewarding them with praise and encouragement.

As a result, inspectors were wowed repeatedly by the staff and children at the nursery, writing: “Relationships between staff, children and their peers are extremely respectful. Children are keen to take on small responsibilities. Children are kind and caring towards one another and show consistently high levels of respect for others.

“Parents have the utmost praise for the nursery and staff. They say they ‘feel very confident and reassured’ and that staff acknowledge children’s interests and talents... Parents feel listened to by the nursery and have a supportive relationship via the parents’ forum. Parents express how confident they are that staff have an excellent understanding of how to care for the children due to the training opportunities they have.”

Sheffield Hallam operates both the nursery on Broomgrove Road as well The Meadows Nursery on Shirecliffe Road, which was rated Good in all areas in March 2023.