An enthusiastic manager committed to providing children with good-quality care and education has led to a Mepal pre-school retaining its ‘good’ rating from Ofsted.

Mepal and Witcham Pre-School – which has 18 children aged two to four at the setting - was rated as good in all areas, including effectiveness of the leadership and management, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, personal development, behaviour and welfare, and outcomes for children.

The inspector’s report states that the manager “continually reflects on children’s progress” and that “she seeks ongoing improvements to enhance their learning.

“Children are eager and motivated to learn. They engage well in a wide range of opportunities, indoors and outside.

“Staff carefully plan the environment and activities to support children’s interests, extend their learning and help them to progress well.

“Staff are good role models. They are calm, patient and kind. Children build secure attachments with staff and enjoy playing alongside them.

“Children behave well throughout the day and show good levels of confidence and self-esteem.

“Staff plan many opportunities to support children’s mathematical and literacy development.

“Children are eager to practise their early writing skills in a variety of ways. Staff introduce numbers and counting at every opportunity.”

The report also gives a number of reasons why the pre-school was not rated ‘outstanding’.

“While staff communicate effectively with parents generally, they have not developed highly effective partnership working with all parents so that children fully benefit from a collaborative approach to supporting their learning.

“Occasionally, staff intervene to help children and do not challenge them to complete small tasks for themselves,” it said.

To further improve, the inspector states that the pre-school should “work with parents so that all children fully benefit from high levels of consistency and support for learning in the pre-school and at home”.

It adds that the pre-school should “encourage children’s independence and sense of responsibility to complete small tasks for themselves”.

The pre-school, registered in 1995, employs five members of childcare staff; four have early years qualifications at Level 3 or above.

It opens from Monday to Friday during term time only. Sessions are from 9am until midday on Wednesdays and Fridays, and from 9am until 1pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. The pre-school provides funded early education for two, three and four-year-old children.

The inspection was carried out by Julie Meredith-Jenkins on April 23.