The first Sure Start Children’s Centre in Nottinghamshire to be inspected by Ofsted has received an overall ‘good’ rating with one area being judged as ‘outstanding’ in a report published 8 July 2010.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s Mansfield Woodhouse Children’s Centre, Swans Lane, Mansfield was inspected by Ofsted during a two day process 16-17 June.
The co-ordinator and staff from the centre have been praised by the inspectors for their dedication to provide families with a range of good quality services, tailored to meet particular needs.
The report notes that provision is good because of the centre’s thorough procedures for assessing the needs of users, in particular disadvantaged and vulnerable families. The care, guidance and support given to users is outstanding because of the extremely safe and nurturing environment the centre provides.
Other highlights of the report include:
- good partnerships have been made with social care and health, early years staff, family support workers and other agencies responsible for users health, safety and economic well being;
- childcare within the centre and delivered by partners is good with outstanding features
- the centre offers value for money as services are provided to meet tailored needs; and
- strong centre leadership demonstrating a passion and relentless determination to improve life chances of families within the local community.
Lisa Buxton, Co-ordinator of Mansfield Woodhouse, said "We are delighted with the Ofsted result. We are dedicated to providing good, high quality services to our families and the report highlights this."
Philip Owen, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People Services, said "The Ofsted rating is great news and shows the commitment and hard work carried out by the children’s centre and their partners to deliver good, effective services for our children and their families."
The report also identifies small areas of improvement which the centre will address and action.
