STAFF at a pre-school in Ilminster are over the moon after receiving a recent ‘Good’ Ofsted report.

Members of Cygnet pre-school, which is linked to Swanmead Community School, are celebrating after inspectors ranked them as ‘Good’ in all areas.

Sally Jenner-Hurford, pre-school supervisor and designated safeguarding lead, said: “Really, it was a good report for all of us. It says that the staff work well with parents, children and as a team.

“Obviously the comments that ‘the manager is passionate about providing a high-quality early years provision’ are great because that is me.

“The points that we picked up on were that we need to make children more aware of things that could be potential accidents so we will work on that and hopefully get an outstanding next time.”

A spokesman for the school added: “We are very pleased.

“Ofsted came round on June 22. It was a bit of a surprise as it was about six months early but they are just ahead of the game at the moment.

“We were all well prepared and it went well.

“The manager, Sally, was very pleased with the comments about her and very proud of her staff.

“Ofsted were impressed with the staff’s close working relationship with parents, so we are quite pleased with our staff.”

The summary of the report said: “The manager is passionate about providing a high-quality early years provision for children. She identifies areas to improve successfully through regular evaluation of staff practice to enhance outcomes for children.

“Staff use detailed observations and assessment systems well to track children’s progress accurately.

“They identify children’s next steps in learning precisely and plan exciting activities to support their learning.

“All children, including those who receive additional funding, enjoy their learning and make good progress.

“Staff form strong relationships with parents.

“Staff work closely with schools and other settings children attend, sharing information frequently to help complement children’s learning and development.

“Staff are good role models and help children to be kind and thoughtful. Children take turns and share, needing only occasional, gentle reminders from staff to reinforce this.”

Cygnet staff still need to consistently extend learning and develop children’s awareness to keep themselves safe.