A pre-school is over the moon after maintaining its ‘good’ rating in its latest Ofsted inspection.

Maldon Community Pre-School in Wantz Chase again received a ‘good’ rating in its newest report, which championed the school for its ‘strong commitment to providing high-quality care and education.’

Vikki Mitchell, manager of Maldon Community Pre-School was “over the moon” after the report was released.

She said: “We are exceptionally proud of the staff and the children who were present during the inspection.

“We did very well and the inspector was very happy with what she saw on the day, which is just a snapshot of what happens at the school.

“We were quite pleased with a few of the points in the report such as the staff take priority in developing the childrens’ learning through visual prompts and our efforts to promote literacy in the children.”

The report from inspector Jemma Hudson found the staff were consistently caring and engaging with the children, who she said have “tailored support” and “feel secure in their environment”.

Speaking about the welfare of the children at the school, Mrs Hudson said: “Children are happy. They develop good relationships with their key person and eagerly seek them out to share their achievements.

“Behaviour is managed well. Staff have clear expectations which they consistently reinforce.

“They use a range of strategies to help children respond to these expectations.

“Staff help children to adopt healthy lifestyles.

“For instance, children understand that they must wash their hands before they eat.”

Safeguarding was “effective” at the pre-school and the teaching staff and management pay close attention to ensuring the children are safe and healthy.

Mrs Hudson also congratulated Mrs Mitchell for her strong leadership within the pre-school, describing her as a “good role model for her staff team”.

She said: “She demonstrates ambition for the pre-school and works well in partnership with others to continually improve the quality of the setting.

“The manager uses information gathered from assessments effectively to identify differences in the learning of different groups of children, and swiftly puts plans in place reduce them.

“Parents are happy with the care their children receive at the pre-school and feel supported to continue children's learning at home.”

Mrs Mitchell was happy the report had recognised the “great fundamentals” the school is teaching its children, and she is confident they will continue to help the students develop in the future.

She said: “I have been here nearly ten-years, and this is the third consecutive ‘good’ rating we have received.

“For us, that is a massive achievement.”