An East London nursery where children practice mindfulness, collect fresh eggs from chickens and help to feed school tortoises has received an ‘Outstanding’ rating in all areas by Ofsted.
Rebecca Cheetham Nursery and Children’s Centre in Newham was described by Ofsted as an ‘oasis of calm’ with an exciting learning community, following an inspection in March 2025. In a report published on April 30, inspectors praised the nursery for creating a nurturing environment for children who are happy and safe and know adults are there to help and care for them – should they become worried or upset.
Staff who work at the nursery on Marcus Street were praised for ensuring a range of highly effective support is available for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) as they know them well and can carefully adapt and plan their next steps.
Inspectors said the development of children’s literacy, communication and language is a ‘key priority’ and every morning during self-registration, children get to vote on the book they would like to have read to them.
Staff provide a variety of rich experiences for children to take part in, including regular visits to local places of worship such as mosques, churches and temples where parents and carers are also encouraged to come along and visit.
Inspectors said children enjoy making Eid cards, learning about Palm Sunday and painting Easter eggs, and said these initiatives help to build children’s cultural awareness and understanding of the wider world.
Children have a wide range of responsibilities, including recycling, encouraging sustainable travel, rights champions, collecting fresh eggs from the chickens and helping to feed the popular school tortoises known as Bubble and Squeak.
Head teacher Rohan Allen told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that he and staff were ‘ecstatic’ with the Ofsted result, and praised them for showing up ‘every single day’ to commit themselves and get to know the children. He went on to say staff work really hard to create a calming atmosphere for the children by teaching them mindfulness and useful breathing techniques.
Mr Allen said: “It’s something that we live and breathe so we do lots of work around mindfulness and teaching children to breathe in a mindful way.
“That was a journey because telling people to breathe is kind of a difficult concept. We [teach it] in a real child-centred way, the added benefit is that when the adults are using those techniques with the children, they’re also calming their own central nervous system as well.
“You have this really beautiful equilibrium between the adult and the child and reaching the same place so that helps us to delve deeper and be more ready for any kind of learning that’s about to take place.”
Mr Allen said he was inspired to have pets at the school after growing up with chickens in inner-city Melbourne, Australia. He said: “There was so much I learnt from that experience so it was always something I was keen for our children to experience as well.
“And we’re also learning what kind of food is safe for the chickens to eat and trying to be sustainable. We have these kind of plants readily available in our garden so children can pick them and see what happens when we grow them and how we can use them for other benefits like eating.”
Inspectors said parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the education their children receive, adding they feel well informed and fully involved in their children’s time at the nursery.
The nursery school’s leadership, including governors was also praised for knowing the nursery and community in depth, and said staff are proud to work there. The nursery was previously rated ‘Outstanding’ in all areas following an Ofsted inspection in October 2019.
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