A PRESCHOOL is celebrating after being given a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted in its first inspection.

Kempshott Under Fives Preschool, in Homesteads Road, was inspected on January 15, and was given a ‘good’ in all areas by the education watchdog.

Ofsted praised the preschool in all the categories that the watchdog looks at, including leadership, teaching, outcomes for children, and behaviour.

The inspection made particular mention of the new manager, Melissa Keane, at the pre-school.

In the inspector's report it read: “The newly-appointed manager works closely with staff to evaluate practice and drive continued improvement. She obtains feedback from parents and invites children to express their opinions.

"She has an overview of all children’s progress and any gaps in their learning are quickly addressed.”

The report spoke highly of the preschool’s relationships with parents, stating that information relating to the children’s learning is shared and how the learning can be supported at home.

The report noted: “Children learn to do many tasks for themselves and develop good independence skills. In addition, staff help them to take turns and share. They help children to show good levels of respect and to feel valued and safe.

“Children are enthusiastic in their imaginative play. They are confident and excited to explore many practical activities, for example, as they peel and cut real food and vegetables. They make good progress from their initial starting points.”

Inspectors mentioned there is still points for improvement before the preschool reaches outstanding, the highest rank Ofsted gives.

This includes inspectors feeling at times resources were sometimes disorganised, which made it difficult to get around. It was also noted preschool leaders had not fully enhanced professional development of the staff.

About what preschool leaders should be doing, the report read: “Monitor the organisation of the learning environment more effectively so that children can move around easily, to extend their play and learning as fully as possible.

“Develop staff ’s ongoing professional development programme and evaluate the impact of improvements to achieve outstanding outcomes for children.”

Area manager Michelle Tejevo said: "We gained our first official Ofsted rating of 'Good' having opened in November 2015. We opened as a sister preschool to Hatch Warren Under Fives as we had a huge waiting list and could not keep up with demand.

"Melissa Keane, our Manager, has been instrumental in creating such a wonderfully warm and caring environment for all the children within our care. We delight in providing new experiences for all children to engage and motivate their learning, whilst aiming to form close bonds with families and carers.

"If anyone would like to look around the preschool, which is based with St Marks Church, Homesteads Road, they can contact us on 07951660401."