A SCHOOL which was rated as inadequate by Ofsted in February has been given an improved rating by the education watchdog.

Humpty Dumpty Pre-School, in Rawlings Crescent, Highwoods, Colchester, was reinspected last month, with Ofsted publishing their new findings.

The school caters for two to four-year-olds, and currently has 31 children on the school role.

It had been deemed inadequate across the board earlier this year, but the latest report for Humpty Dumpty Pre-School said it had improved to a good standard, with children observed to be enjoying their time in early years education and receiving praise and encouragement from staff.

The findings are a far cry from the inspection report published in February, when Ofsted staff said children did not have free access to drinking water and rarely played outdoors during cold or wet weather.

But the school was praised for improving its provisions in all areas during July’s inspection, with the quality of education, ethos, and overall effectiveness of the school all having improved.

One paragraph of the report read: “The manager and staff team have worked hard to meet the actions set at the last inspection.

“Children confidently get their own fresh drinking water and enjoy playing outside in the garden.

“Staff receive regular supervision meetings and are encouraged to complete additional training to help develop and extend their practise further – this helps to raise the quality of education and outcomes for children.”

Staff's safeguarding knowledge at the pre-school, which was previously assessed as poor, is now described as effective.

The report read: “Parents are happy with the care and learning opportunities that their children receive – they comment that their children have learned a good range of skills to help them move smoothly and confidently into school.

“Parents are happy with the regular updates from staff about children's achievements and progress.”

Responding to the improved rating, a spokeswoman for Humpty Dumpty Pre-School said the staff had worked hard to improve the environment for children since the last inspection.

She said: “We would just like to say that as a team we are immensely proud of the outcome that we have worked hard to achieve.”