STAFF and pupils at a Whitchurch nursery are celebrating after being awarded top marks by inspectors.

The Oak Tree, in Bere Hill, has been given an ‘outstanding’ rating by the government’s education and childcare inspectors, Ofsted.

The glowing report highlighted the nursery’s “extremely calm and caring atmosphere” and “highly skilled staff”, noting that children “display high levels of confidence and selfesteem.”

Inspectors were also impressed by the importance placed on outdoor play within the nursery and through the Forest School provision, as well as the commitment to freshly-prepared healthy meals.

It marks a significant improvement for nursery staff, who previously received a ‘good’ rating following their previous Ofsted inspection in 2009.

The Oak Tree co-manager, Jenny Forsythe, was full of praise for her staff in contributing to the upturn in fortunes during the past five years.

She said: “We are thrilled to have this hard work recognised in our latest Ofsted report.

“The whole team at The Oak Tree works extremely hard to provide the best environment we possibly can for the children in our care and their parents.

“We are committed to ongoing training of all our staff, including working with Andover College and the University of Winchester, to help all our practitioners reach the highest standards.

“We also work hard to build strong relationships with the families of children in our care, listening closely to their feedback and adapting our practice to accommodate individual needs of children and parents.”