Staff at a nursery and pre-school in Watford are celebrating a glowing Ofsted report which declared it “outstanding” across the board.

Kingswood Early Years Centre, in Briar Road, has steadily improved across successive inspections from “satisfactory” in 2011 to “good” by 2013.

Now, following a two-day inspection carried out in March of this year, the school has received the highest possible rating in all four main assessment criteria, an achievement which head teacher Bernie Jackson attributes to the close cooperation between teachers, governors and parents.

“We’ve got dedicated staff and governors, and the parents are really supportive. It doesn’t matter how much money you have got if you don’t have the right people. It’s a partnership,” said Mrs Jackson.  

“It is the staff who make the difference. They are committed and passionate about doing the best for every child.

“The children were an absolute credit, and delighted the inspector with their passion for learning and sense of adventure.

“I’m genuinely really thrilled. It’s been an amazing journey.”

Watford Observer:

The beaming head teacher, who has overseen the school’s steady improvement in her seven years at the helm, says there is still room for improvement, despite the high praise of Ofsted inspector Fiona Webb who wrote in her report that Kingswood Nursery is a “special place to learn”.

“Children thrive because of the strong focus on care and nurture. They are known and valued as individuals. Because of this, they feel secure and have high levels of confidence and self-esteem,” the report states.  

“The head teacher leads the leads the school community with passion and skill. As a result of excellent leadership, the quality of teaching is outstanding.

“Children make outstanding progress in their behaviour because of the excellent way staff model positive behaviour in front of the children. Staff encourage children to talk about, and describe, their feelings, and teach them how to learn to manage their emotions very well.

Kingswood, which teaches 124 pupils aged two to five, is recognised as a local centre of excellence, with staff from other schools regularly visiting to observe practice.

The only recommendation offered in the report was to improve the attainment of boys and disadvantaged children by finding ways to further accelerate their learning, particularly in literacy.