Ofsted full of praise for '˜outstanding' Little Bears

Little Bears, which is based at West Chiltington School, in East Street, underwent an inspection in March and the findings were published on April 7.

In her report, inspector Victoria Cheeseman said children at Little Bears made “excellent progress” and were “extremely well prepared” for the step up to primary school.

She added: “Children arrive at the pre-school extremely eager to learn and play, and they settle very successfully.

“They are extremely well behaved and polite, and develop high levels of confidence in their abilities.

“Staff are highly committed to providing excellent levels of care and attention to children, which extends children’s skills ready for their next stage in learning.”

The pre-school was last inspected in December 2010 but had not allowed standards to slip in the five years since.

Children were seen to have an “exceptional interest” in reading, and they regularly borrowed books to share with their parents.

Staff encouraged the youngsters to talk about the books they had read and even taught them sign language to help increase their communication skills.

Little Bears manager Julie Sweeney was full of praise for her staff.

She said: “ It is through the dedication and enthusiasm of all staff, children and parents we were able to maintain our standards through keeping up to date with current policies and through effective training.

“Our parents are equally pleased with the result and I am sure they join us in wanting to share our news.

“We were particularly pleased tod receive feedback from Ofsted regarding how happy the children were in the setting and the excellent standard of teaching they observed.”

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