Ofsted: Osmotherley Pre-School 'Outstanding' report

In June last year, Osmotherley Pre-School had a turbulent time of it, as it was threatened with closure, due to the lack of funds at the education facility, and had a 'requires improvement' rating.

However, fast forward 12 months, and with a new board of trustees, the pre-school has stayed open - and is now celebrating after a recent Ofsted inspection.

Osmotherley Pre-School celebrating its 'outstanding' rating (Image: OSMOTHERLEY PRE-SCHOOL)

Through fundraising, those who run Osmotherley Pre-School have got it back to a financially stable position - and the appointment of a new manager has helped secure its immediate future.

During the Ofsted inspection, which took place on July 3 and published on July 29, education inspectors praised the pre-school, saying: "The quality of education in this pre-school is exceptional."

The report goes on to say: "The tightly focused and highly ambitious curriculum reflects the needs of the community that children live in and supports every child to thrive.

"Staff have loving and affectionate relationships with the children they care for. This helps children to feel safe and relaxed, which in turn supports them to develop high levels of confidence."

Further praise for the staff, curriculum, and leadership was made. 

Inspectors at the time noted: "Staff have very high expectations of children's behaviour. They have a key focus on helping children to learn self-regulation skills. Children are keen to learn and are highly engaged. They practise their social skills, such as when chattering animatedly with their friends upon discovering an unusual fungus and an interestingly coloured pine cone."

Following the 'outstanding' Ofsted report, staff are celebrating the impressive feat, with a trustee at Osmotherley Pre-School, Anna Ramshay, shining a light on the team effort.

She said: "The staff have shown resilience through difficult times and their teamwork has resulted in this amazing award from Ofsted.

"There are several quotes in the report which shows how truly amazing our pre-school is."

While the 'outstanding' report is a testament to the work of the pre-school, according to the Trustee, there are still "tough times ahead", due to the pre-school needing a new roof and the lease needing renewing with the council.

She added: "We need to secure funding for the new roof and we aren't able to secure the grants until the council extend/renew our lease. This hasn't yet been confirmed.

"The building was left to the village for educational purposes and we have had issues with renewing in the past as the council wanted to claim the building.

We are expecting some challenges ahead of us but the Ofsted result will certainly help us with securing our future in the building."