From playtime to party time: Nursery revels in ‘milestone’ Ofsted result

'Outstanding' judgments dished out across the board at Seymour House

'Outstanding' judgments dished out across the board at Seymour House

27 Aug 2025, 13:10

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An Essex-based nursery group is celebrating a perfect sweep of Ofsted judgments.

Seymour House’s apprenticeship academy received ‘outstanding’ grades across the board in a report published today following its first full inspection.

The employer began directly training its own staff in February 2023. It had 47 apprentices on the level 3 early years educators standard working across 10 nurseries in Essex and one in Hertfordshire at the time of Ofsted’s visit in July.

Inspectors lauded the “highly positive attitudes” of apprentices who “take pride in their work”, show “exemplary” personal and professional behaviour and have high attendance to teaching sessions.

Apprentices also “quickly become important members of their workplace teams” and develop “valuable knowledge and skills and strategies to help them work inclusively with children and families in their settings”.

Seymour House’s leaders were praised for having “high expectations” and “ambitions” for apprentices. Bosses ensure that their apprentices are “nurtured and receive a high-quality training experience that is designed around the needs of their specific early years settings”.

This is reflected in “high” achievement rates.

Emma Price, head of apprenticeships at Seymour House, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to achieve outstanding across the board in our first Ofsted inspection. 

“Our apprentices work incredibly hard and are truly passionate about giving children the best start in life. This result reflects their dedication, as well as the wonderful support provided by our tutors, assessors and nursery teams.”

Ofsted praised Seymour’s “wide range” of enrichment opportunities, which apprentices “relish”, such as exploring healthy eating with specialist caterers, visiting forest school settings and supporting local charities.

Leaders were lauded for ensuring that staff are “knowledgeable and experienced”, while expert tutors use a “wide range of teaching strategies very effectively to make lessons interesting and informative”.

The strategic board also have an “excellent understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement of the provider” and give “effective challenge” to leaders.

A Seymour House spokesperson said this was a “milestone” moment for the nursery. Price added: “We’re proud to offer a programme that inspires and develops aspiring early years educators, and we’re delighted that Ofsted has recognised the positive impact this is having.”

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