Ten out of ten outstanding for group Kids 1st
Friday, August 7, 2015
All ten of the North East nursery group’s settings are now rated outstanding by Ofsted.
The latest inspection took place at Kids 1st Hexham in Northumberland. It is the fifth nursery to be rated outstanding this year.
As of last November, two-thirds of the group’s nurseries were graded outstanding and a third good, according to Nursery World’s latest Nursery Chains published in autumn 2014.
The group has come top in the Nursery Chains league table for quality for four consecutive years. The table is based on an analysis of Ofsted reports of the 20 biggest nursery groups in England.
Inspectors praised Kids 1st Hexham (right) for its ‘rich, stimulating and exciting learning environment, its partnership with parents, and the way in which it supports the development of children’s self-esteem and positive attitudes towards learning.’
Sarah Scandle, manager of Kids 1st Hexham, said she was thrilled with the nursery’s achievement.
Commenting on the news that the nursery group has achieved 100 per cent outstanding, Kids 1st’s managing director Mark McArdle said, ‘I am so proud of everything that we have accomplished over the last 11 years, but to be able to say that all ten of our nurseries are outstanding is very special and quite unique within the industry.
‘It is extremely difficult to achieve an outstanding Ofsted report and we know we couldn’t achieve them without the hard work and dedication of every single member of staff. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to them for being part of the Kids 1st family.’
Established in 2003, Kids 1st runs ten nurseries in Northumberland, County Durham, the Tees Valley, Tyne and Wear and Newcastle.
In November, the group is to open another nursery in the grounds of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead.
At the end of last month, Kids 1st announced it had secured planning permission to build its 12th setting in Ashbrooke, Sunderland, investing £1.5 million into the build.
The nursery, which is expected to open in January 2016, will provide 108 childcare places and employ 25 members of staff.
When this setting opens, Kids 1st will operate a total of 12 nurseries, offering 1,286 places.
