The Sombornes Pre-school is rated "good" by Ofsted

Staff at The Sombornes Pre-school are celebrating after Ofsted officials rated the early years’ provider ‘good’.

It was a step up the ratings ladder for the preschool which was rated satisfactory when it first opened in September 2011

Supervisor Becky Hunt said: "This is excellent news for us. We have come along in leaps and bounds and have done really well since the last Ofsted inspection."

The rating means that the pre-school, based at the King’s Somborne village hall, can now apply for Government funding for two-year-old children to qualify for free early years care.

Becky added: "We now want to build on this to get an outstanding Ofsted report in three years’ time when the next inspection is due."

Inspectors found:

n Staff have close, trusting and respectful relationships with all the children which promotes children’s emotional and social development.

n A wide range of stimulating and appropriate activities is available to the children inside, outside and away from the setting to enable them to learn and develop well.

n Staff are good role models to the children, who listen attentively to adults, behave well and show kindness by sharing and helping each other.

n A positive partnership with parents means information is shared, which helps staff meet

children’s care and learning needs.

n Robust measures are in place to drive improvement through realistic action plans.

The report also praises the children’s behaviour and the partnership the early years provider has with nearby King’s Somborne Primary School.

Turning to leadership, the inspector described it as "good" and described it as having a "strong drive and vision" for continuous improvement.

In order to reach outstanding status the preschool has been advised to teach children more about personal safety.