The Cleveland Unit Child Development Centre and Assessment Nursery - an early years assessment, therapy and teaching centre now based at Hemlington Initiative Centre - has consistently been rated ‘outstanding' by the education watchdog since its first inspection in 2005.
At their last inspection it was reported that out of approximately 28,000 early years providers in England, the unit was one of only 22 to hit the top grade five times.
This most recent outstanding judgement has been secured despite Ofsted reporting in August 2022, that the proportion of early years providers judged outstanding has “substantially decreased from 20% to 15% since August 2019”.
Jennie Kitchen, Head of Early Years and Primary Inclusion for Middlesbrough, which includes The Cleveland Unit, said: “Relocating from the hospital during the early days of the pandemic to support the NHS covid response, meant a new registration with Ofsted so this is recorded as our first Ofsted report although we’ve been inspected six times now and judged to be outstanding every single time.
“The children who come to The Cleveland Unit are amazing and they deserve the best of everything. I’m delighted that Ofsted have always recognised that that’s what we give them.”
The Cleveland Unit offers nursery provision for children from two years up to the age of four with complex special educational needs and is also providing intensive intervention and assessment packages for children in response to the impact from the pandemic.
In their report, Ofsted recognised that “every child receives personalised care, specifically focused on their individual and complex needs, including medical needs.”
During their latest visit, Ofsted found all areas including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and the unit’s leadership and management to be outstanding.
In her report, Ofsted Inspector Denise Charge highlights the “delight on children’s faces” as staff recognise and praise their achievements.
The “inspirational” management team were also recognised in the report, described as being “passionate about their work” and “continually striv(ing) for excellence”.
Lucy Donnelly, Specialist Teacher who leads the nursery said she is “really proud to lead a team of such committed and passionate staff, this report is a testament to all our continuous hard work.”
Lucy added: “Despite the challenges of the relocation and working through COVID, the team have never faltered in their efforts to make a difference to the children and their families and this is evident throughout the report.”
Partnership working with families and a wide variety of professionals was found to be “exemplary”, with robust safety measures and “a wealth of training” in place to ensure “as many children as possible have access to this exceptional nursery.”
Safeguarding is effective as a result of “robust recruitment measures and training."
The report described staff as “exceptionally skilled and especially nurturing and caring”, and stated that “children's development is constantly monitored, extended and celebrated.”
The reports adds that parents "are exceptionally complimentary about the nursery. They say the nursery is 'brilliant.” “Parents are especially appreciative of the involvement of staff in their lives.”
Cllr Mieka Smiles, Middlesbrough Council’s Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Children’s Services, said: “This is another fantastic report for a centre with a longstanding excellent reputation. Big congratulations must go to all the passionate staff and children who are an absolute credit to the Cleveland Unit.”