Celebration for Pre School Nursery

Children, parents and staff celebrated the progress being made by Little Oaks pre-school nursery at Longwood Primary School, Mile Oak with an assembly of Chinese dancing and ballet.

The nursery group, which was set up sixteen months ago, recently underwent their very first Ofsted inspection and came out with flying colours. The report which was full of praise for everyone involved stated that,

‘Children are confident in their environment and happily approach staff’

‘The quality of teaching is good’

‘Partnerships with parents and carers is good and children are warmly welcomed into the nursery, being cared for by staff who liaise closely with the parents’

Natalie Green, the nursery manager said,

“We are really delighted with what the inspectors said in the report. It is great that the lovely atmosphere the children enjoy at Little Oaks really shone through during the inspection”

The positive report means that Governors are looking at the possibility of expanding the hours available to full wrap around care. It is hoped that places for 3 and 4 year olds will be available from 8am until 5pm during term time in the future.

Little Oaks is also in the process of finding funding to greatly expand the outdoor facilities with plans to extend fencing and improve play areas.

To celebrate the Ofsted report and mark the proposed expansion plans, a competition was held to find a new logo for the nursery. Nearly fifty children from the school designed pictures showing the fun they have attending Longwood School and also how they think the Little Oaks nursery should be recognised.

The competition was judged by Matthew Ellis the area’s County Councillor. He said,

“I think the achievement of Little Oaks is marvellous and what a talented group of young performers we have at Longwood School. It’s great that so many parents turned up to watch the Chinese dancing and ballet and the dragon was absolutely brilliant”.

The winner of the competition to design the new logo was Ashley Freeman, aged eight and he received a £25 WH Smith voucher. The new logo will now be transferred to all signage, literature and uniforms used by Little Oaks.

Matthew Ellis continued,

“You can tell from the wonderful pictures the children designed that they are in their element here. There is a real sense of fun and learning and with the future plans to offer full day care from morning to early evening I know it will benefit even more local people and give the children a great place to learn and play”.

There are currently limited free places available for 3 and 4 year olds inside and outside the catchment area for Little Oaks.

For more information on current availability and to register an early interest in the proposed full day wrap round care, call Natalie Green at Little Oaks on 01827 475030.