A NURSERY which has children's health and happiness at the centre of its work has been praised by Ofsted.

College Day Nursery, which is based at Great Yarmouth College in Lichfield Road, was visited by inspectors on January 16 who deemed all of their provisions as 'good'.

The report praised the children's behaviour and said that children behave well and are happy, settled and able to participate in activities at their own level.

It stated: 'Staff build positive relationships with parents and others who provide care and learning for the children, ensuring that any concerns are quickly identified and managed.'

The nursery was commended for equipping children with skills for the future. 'A good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities are promoted and toys are clean, suitable for their purpose and appropriate to the children's age and stage of development. Staff are highly involved in children's play and learning.'

Parents told inspectors that nursery and staff were 'fantastic' and they were happy how the 'friendly and helpful staff' shared information about their children.

College principal Penny Wycherley said she was delighted with the report that was a testament to the dedication and commitment of nursery manager Monica Bates and her staff.

Mrs Bates said: 'The staff have worked well as a team for a number of years and have shown great commitment. I am proud of their achievements.'

The nursery cares for 55 children aged between 12 weeks and school age and a maximum of 44 can attend a session.

The good rating means the nursery offers 'strong provision' in every aspect of its provision.

The report said: 'Their good health is promoted further because staff encourage hand washing before eating and talk to them about foods that are good for us. A variety of fresh fruit is offered for snack and a rolling snack programme means that children can eat when they are hungry.'

To continue to improve the report recommended that the nursery worked on staff appraisals and continuing to develop planning and observation in order to plan appropriate play and learning based on children's interests and needs.

For information on nursery places contact Monica Bates on 01493 442443 or m.bates@gyc.ac.uk