Ofsted praise for exceptional teaching at Worthing pre-school

Offington Park Pre-School, in South Farm Road, received an ‘outstanding’ rating following an inspection last month, the results of which were published on May 8.

The rating was a step up from the school’s 2012 ‘good’ report and was the highest Ofsted inspector Hannah Barter could give.

The report stated: “The quality of teaching is exceptional. Staff use every opportunity to develop children’s knowledge through purposeful discussion and continuous observations of children’s play.”

The only minor piece of advice Ms Barter gave to the pre-school was to use visual aids to help improve the children’s knowledge and understanding of time restraints.

Manager Amy Gould was delighted with the rating - the first time in her eight years at the pre-school that Offington had received such high praise.

She credited the improvement to the committment and dedication of her team - as well as taking Ofsted’s advice from their previous report to heart.

Amy said: “We’re constantly improving our practice and base it very much on listening to our parents and children and our staff. The team is updating their knowledge constantly.”

Amy herself was praised in the report, which read: “The manage is fully committed to continuously improving the provision for children and staff practice to ensure they maintain high standards.”

One of the issues which had been raised during the 2012 inspection was the need to ensure parents were kept up to date with their children’s progress and achievements.

With parents declaring themselves “over the moon” with the Ofsted report, Amy and her team appear to have done everything demanded of them.

The next step on the educational ladder for the Offington children will be their entry into primary school - something for which Ms Barter felt Amy and her team had them well prepared.

Her report said: “Staff have an outstanding knowledge and understanding of how to seamlessly incorporate learning into children’s play.

“Planning and assessment are highly effective and provide children with challenging opportunities to help them flourish.

“Consequently, all children make excellent progress in their development and staff prepare them exceptionally well for school.”

As for the future, Amy said she had no intention of letting Offington’s ‘outstanding’ rating slip and added: “We’re not complacent at all.”