STAFF at Barn Owl Preschool have been smiling from ear to ear this week after Ofsted rated them good for a second time.

Inspectors recently visited the preschool, which is based at Haydon Wick Primary School, and found that in all areas, including leadership, quality of teaching, personal development and outcomes for pupils, the preschool consistently provided a high-quality education.

In her report, inspector Kelly Sunderland said: “Children are happy, confident and settled. They enjoy positive relationships with the staff, who are caring and show genuine interest in each child as an individual.

“The ambitious manager is committed to ensuring that children receive good-quality

care and education. She works well with the staff team to evaluate the strengths and

weaknesses of the pre-school. She is continuously looking to improve the practice and

sets relevant targets for ongoing improvements.

“Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff keep parents fully informed in their

children's learning. For example, they share next steps with them and provide activity

ideas to promote learning at home.

“Staff help children to recognise and celebrate their good work, such as through 'proud

clouds'. These help to boost children's confidence and self-esteem. The managers and staff monitor children's learning and development effectively. This enables them to swiftly highlight any gaps in their learning and provide individual support to help children quickly catch up and make good progress.”

Barn Owl Preschool, which has 44 children on roll, was first rated good by Ofsted back in 2015.

Manager Claire Graham was thrilled by the Ofsted report.

“It was such a positive experience and it was a really good day,” she said.

“The team and the owners Christine Webb and Debbie Waldon are delighted with the result of the report especially as the inspection criteria has become more rigorous since our last inspect in April 2015.

“This was my first inspection as manager and overall it has been a very positive experience.

“We were all immensely proud that the inspector praised the children’s learning and development especially in the mathematical area.

“We all strive to achieve the best outcomes for the children at the preschool and continually make improvements.”

Claire added: “We always pride ourselves on building relationships with the parents and we would like to thank them for their continued support which was highlighted in the report.

“I have been blown away by how positive the report was and how we have managed to maintain a good grade since I took over from the previous manager.

“We are going to take things forward that she said and look forward and hopefully next time we will be able to get the outstanding.”