Ofsted success for St Michael’s Pre School, Norton, Stourbridge

St Michael’s Pre-School is celebrating after achieving an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted inspection across all areas. The inspector praised the Church-run pre-school for its ‘inspirational learning environment’ where children ‘make rapid progress in their development’.

Manager, Sally Collins said: “We were so pleased that our provision continues to be judged as outstanding. It is a whole team effort and really reflects what we do each day. We were particularly delighted with the feedback that our ‘staff are excellent role models to children and support them to resolve conflict calmly and swiftly’ and ‘children use manners without prompting and show care towards others’.”

The pre-school sits under the umbrella of St Michael and All Angels Church and meets in the hall next door. The team are proud of their Christian ethos, with congregation members coming in to read bible stories to the children and the pre-school visiting the church for ‘Experience Easter’, graduation ceremonies and nativity plays.

“The love of Jesus is in everything we do”, continues Sally. “As a team, we pray each morning before the pre-school opens and regularly ask parents if there’s anything they’d like us to pray for. It’s really important to us that we support the families as well as educating and caring for the children. We give out vouchers to those who are struggling, and parents and carers are always welcome to pop in for a chat. We really don’t want people to feel like they’re on their own.”

“We are a very inclusive setting which is there for everyone and it’s great that the Ofsted inspector recognised that. We are lucky that we never have to advertise – we’re always full just through word of mouth! Things are quite tough at the moment with the funding crisis in early years’ care and we always appreciate any support the wider church can give us with additional resources for the children. This amazing Ofsted report is a real reflection on the dedication of our staff, but we are also very grateful for all those who support us.”

Read the full report on Ofsted’s website.