A NURSERY has achieved the highest possible grade in its inspection.

Abacus Children’s Day Nursery on Barras Lane in Dalston achieved an outstanding rating from Ofsted.

The nursery, which has 188 children on its roll and employs 35 staff, opened in November 2015, and received its first Ofsted inspection in August 2016. when it was graded outstanding.

Its second inspection was on October 14 – and it was found to have kept up its standard.

Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, including state schools and some independent schools. It grades these institutions with one of four grades, ranking from the highest, being 1 (Outstanding), 2 (Good), 3 (Requires Improvement) and 4 (Inadequate).

Leanne Perkins, the nursery manager and deputy manager of Abacus Children’s Day Nursery, said: “We are really overwhelmed with the final results.

“We had our first inspection where we achieved an outstanding grade as well, and we managed to maintain it this year.

“Our curriculum changed in September, and we were 44 days into this new curriculum, so that was one of the things we were inspected on.

“With Covid going on, it has been a challenging time for the nursery.”

When asked how the grade was achieved, Leanne said: “It is definitely a group effort. The team were great, as well as the parents and families.”

The Ofsted inspector who presided over the nursery’s inspection said: “Children thrive and make exceptional progress in the truly inspiring language rich environment created by highly professional and knowledgeable staff."

On why it matters to get an outstanding rating, Leanne added: “It is the highest grading from Ofsted.

“I always find when you get the highest grade, it is all about maintaining it.

“For the nursery, the outstanding is a huge achievement.

“We had a party day to celebrate, where we had a Minion character come for the children.

“We also had a cake made and we did party games, all to say how proud we are of our team.”

Leanne also gave her thanks to the entire staff as well as manager Zoe Gordon; acting deputy manager Alison Borthwick; and owner Alison Allen.