A YORK nursery branded “inadequate” by Ofsted last autumn has now been hailed as “good.”

The education watchdog previously raised concerns about children’s safety at Kaleidoscope’s Acomb nursery, in the grounds of Westfield Primary School, but it now says they are provided with a safe and secure environment.

“The health and well-being of babies and children is a high priority,” it said in a report compiled following a fresh inspection last month. “Staff understand their responsibility to protect children and know the action they have to take if they have any concerns about a child’s welfare or well-being.”

It said a comprehensive action plan was compiled after the previous inspection and amendments to safeguarding and risk assessment procedures had been made to increase levels of safety.

It also said well-qualified and confident staff had a good knowledge and understanding of how children learn and said the manager was passionate about the nursery and had high aspirations for its future.

Kaleidoscope said in a statement that its Acomb nursery was back to being excellent, with skilful staff who supported all children to develop independence and prepared them well for the next stage in their learning, and the Ofsted report confirmed this.

“Parents have supported the nursery throughout since the previous inspection and the staff have worked extremely hard to prove that they are worthy of the highest praise, as confirmed in the Ofsted report. The nursery is very busy and all the children are extremely happy.”

Jill Hodges, assistant director for education and skills at City of York Council, said the authority had worked closely with Kaleidoscope to ensure it delivered the necessary improvements identified by the previous Ofsted inspection.

“We are pleased to see that through this comprehensive action plan and the hard work of staff on the ground they have now joined the 89 per cent of Early Years providers rated as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in York, which is both above the national and regional average in Yorkshire and the Humber.”

Coun Janet Looker, cabinet member for education, children and young people, said she was delighted the nursery’s work had been recognised by Ofsted.