INSPECTORS were so impressed with a “relaxed and safe” Gwent nursery, during a recent visit, that it has been chosen as a case study from which other practices can learn.

A team from Welsh inspection agency Estyn visited Crossway Nursery back in October and has now published a report on its findings.

The setting is small, with just four members of staff, and is based in Caldicot.

There, the inspectors found children who were “happy, excited and eager to play”, and who are “flourishing”.

The children “play happily alongside one another” and “engage eagerly” in activities.

'Exemplary role models'

Staff at Crossway Nursery are “extremely caring and supportive”, and have a “robust understanding of how to keep children safe and healthy”.

They interact with children “in a warm, friendly manner” and manage behaviour “skilfully”.

Estyn described the nursery staff as “exemplary role models” for the children, who know them and their families well, and who contribute to a “warm and homely atmosphere where children feel valued, confident and well-supported”.

The inspectors reserved special praise for the nursery’s experience-based learning opportunities, describing activities as “engaging and interesting” which “develop children’s skills successfully”.

The nursery staff have now been asked to prepare a case study on its work in this area, so that Estyn can share it with other providers.

South Wales Argus: Children and staff playing outside at Crossway Nursery in Caldicot.Children and staff playing outside at Crossway Nursery in Caldicot. (Image: Crossway Nursery)

'We're a family here'

Following the glowing inspection report, nursery manager Lisa Major told the Argus she and her colleagues encourage “child-led” activities through which they are encouraged to explore “rather then us telling them how” to do things.

She added: “It’s so nice to have that feedback [from the inspectors].

“We’re such a small setting, and it feels like we’re a family here. Parents feel confident to approach us.”

Lisa Beard, the owner and director of Crossway Nursery, said she was “super proud” of her staff.

She told the Argus: “For me the leadership and management is very strong.

“Lisa [Major] is so dedicated to what she does. All the systems in place are so robust.”

Ms Beard said she was delighted to read the inspectors’ positive comments about “interactions the staff had with the children, and how they’re made to feel valued [as well as them having] such a good understanding of child development”.