A Burton nursery which has been taking care of the towns "little monsters" for nearly 15 years is celebrating after being awarded a "good" rating in an Ofsted inspection.

Little Monsters Day Nursery, in Main Road, Anslow, was found to be good in all areas when inspectors visited the premises on August 16.

Director Catherine Gibson set up the nursery with her husband Spencer back in November 2002 and says the facility has gone from strength to strength ever since.

Mrs Gibson says she is very happy with the results and she hopes that the nursery is on its way to achieving an "outstanding" rating.

She said: "We are very happy with the judgement of Good, which we have maintained throughout our almost 15 years in business. This becomes a greater achievement each time, as it gets harder and harder to be awarded the higher grades.

"All the staff have been working extremely hard to achieve this result, paying particular attention to ensuring that the children are happy in the setting and progressing well towards the early learning goals.

"Since the inspection, practitioners have been working hard to focus more on individual children’s learning intentions and the use of assessment and I believe they are well on the way to meeting the requirements for an 'outstanding' grade."

The report highlighted a number of areas which impressed inspectors including the listening and attention skills demonstrated by the children and the opportunities staff give the children to engage in meaningful conversation, which has led to a high proportion of children achieving above their expected level.

The inspector also praised staff on using a good range of teaching strategies and activities to promote the children’s interest in maths and early literacy while the report recognised the setting’s close relationships with parents, stating: "Staff work closely with parents from the outset and quickly identify any children who will benefit from additional support.

"This close partnership, along with working effectively with any other professionals involved, helps children to make good progress."

Staff, children and parents are delighted with the recent results of the inspection

The report also made reference to the emphasis Little Monsters Day Nursery places on children being happy and settled at nursery, saying: "Staff provide a well-organised routine and create a calm and caring atmosphere for children, who show a real sense of belonging.

"Promoting children’s emotional wellbeing is given a high priority and there are strong systems in place to support transition when children move rooms and on to school."

In discussions with parents, the inspector said that parents reported high levels of satisfaction and are impressed with how well staff consult and involve them in their child’s learning and the progress that the children make.

The nursery has enjoyed success in recent years and earlier this year the team welcomed one of their former tots who joined them as a student on a work placement.

Mrs Gibson said: "Most of our success is attributed to the amazing team of dedicated professionals that we have working with us, with over half of the staff having worked at the nursery for seven years or more.

"We had a lovely experience earlier in the year, when a former "little monster" who had attended the nursery as a child, returned as a student to undertake a work placement and we are looking forward to celebrating our 15th birthday at the beginning of November.

"I would like to take the opportunity to thank parents past and present for their support and the practitioners for all their hard work, which has enabled the continued success of the nursery."

Looking for a job? There are thousands available at www.Fish4.co.uk