Outstanding rating for Chieveley Pre-School

An Ofsted inspector recognised that all children receive high quality care at the pre-school

“OUTSTANDING!” cheered the beaming Chieveley Pre-School children this week after an Ofsted inspector deemed every aspect of their school to be immaculate in its performance.

The pre-school, which runs from the village hall, was inspected by the schools watchdog at the beginning of April and the results were published on May 5.

All areas were deemed “outstanding”, included the overall effectiveness of the school, the effectiveness of safeguarding, the extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning, the extent to which children develop skills for the future and the extent to which children make a positive contribution to the school.

In her report, inspector Tracy Bartholomew, said: "All children thrive at this pre-school and achieve consistently well across all areas of their learning and development.

"The staff team are pro-active and highly experienced they are motivated within all aspects of their work.

"This as a result, ensures that all children attending receive high quality care."

She added: "For most children, their progression throughout the learning and development requirements is at least good with the majority of outcomes being outstanding.

"The management team appraises their work accurately and undertakes regular training; consequently, the supervisor is exceptionally well placed to maintain continuous improvement."

The one way in which the pre-school could further improve, the inspector said, was to explore additional ways in which the children could be supported in developing their self help skills at snack time.

Chairwoman of the pre-school, Kimberley Ragousis, said: "This is an amazing accomplishment and a wonderful reflection on the work Jenny Wood, the supervisor and her team have done and the relationship they have with the children.

"But the success is also down to the fact that this is very much a community pre-school."

The pre-school is open five days a week and is permitted to care for 26 children age from two years within the early years age range, at any one time. They currently have 34 children on roll and, of these, 26 children are receiving nursery funding. Seven staff work at the setting and of these five hold an early years qualification.