Sapphires Nursery School

Sapphires Nursery School was rated Good overall at this October 2023 inspection, representing a decline from the previous Outstanding rating in February 2018. The inspection used the legacy 4-area framework (Quality of Education, Behaviour & Attitudes, Personal Development, Leadership & Management), all graded Good. This has been mapped to the November 2025 7-area framework as follows: Quality of Education maps to Curriculum and Teaching (Good, 75); Behaviour & Attitudes maps to Behaviour, Attitudes and Establishing Routines (Good, 75); Personal Development maps to Achievement (Good, 75) and Welfare and Well-being (Good, 75); Leadership & Management maps to Leadership and Governance (Good, 75). Two new areas without explicit legacy grades have been assessed from inspector observations: Inclusion (Good, 72) and Safeguarding (Met, 100). The nursery demonstrates strong foundations with secure attachments, high staff morale, effective parent partnerships, and good curriculum sequencing. However, two specific areas require attention: meal time organisation leading to prolonged waiting periods, and inconsistent communication and language interactions from less experienced staff. The decline from Outstanding suggests some regression in practice consistency and quality depth.