A GARRISON town nursery has said its Ofsted rating turnaround is a ‘testament to the dedication of the staff’.

Perham Down Nursery, which is hosted at a military base near Upavon, has been found to be ‘good’ in all areas by Ofsted after a visit earlier this year.

It had been rated ‘inadequate’ in September after an inspector found problems including safeguarding of children, a weak key-person system and a lack of positive staff-child relationship development.

As a result, the nursery underwent a large staff turnover as well as closing earlier than usual for the Christmas period.

It was given further deadlines to improve by the end of November, which Perham Down Nursery vowed to achieve.

And now it has despite the new staffing team only working together for three weeks by the time of Ofsted’s visit.

Ofsted deemed the manager as supportive of staff and had put in place systems to identify staff training needs.

Staff were praised with the report reading: “Staff offer good support of the children and promote their independence skills well. For example, children of all ages are encouraged to ‘have a go’ at wiping their own noses, before staff assist.”

The inspector added: “Staff promote children’s self-confidence and positive behaviour well.

“For example, they use praise to celebrate children’s achievements and good manners.”

For the nursery to improve further, the report recommended it create more opportunities to help children understand why rules are in place and it should assess the impact of training on the quality of teaching, to help achieve the highest quality practice.

A statement from the board of trustees of TNB Early Years and Play which runs the nursery said: “We were delighted with the outcome of the recent Ofsted inspection for Perham Down Pre-school.

“The nursery received a ‘good’ rating and this result is testament to the dedication of the staff both at the pre-school and at our sister nurseries.

“It is also due to the support of the parents and families during what has been a difficult time and for that, the board of trustees would like to offer their grateful thanks.

“The manager and team have made many positive changes to a number of practices and procedures as a result of the comments made in the preceding Ofsted report.

“The temporary closure before Christmas also allowed time for training, development and recruitment of new staff.

“The recent redecoration of the playrooms is further proof of the exciting future that lies ahead for Perham Down.

“We are ready to move forward to provide the very best care for all the children and their families at Perham Down Pre-school.”