A PRE-SCHOOL has been rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted just two years after a team of new staff were appointed.

Inspectors visited Court Fields Pre-School on Mantle Street in February and were particularly impressed with the strides the school has made to improve children's learning outcomes.

The school received a 'good' rating from inspectors in 2015 but made a number of improvements to become classed as 'outstanding'.

Sheryl Higgs, manager of the school, said the result is a huge achievement for the pre-school which took on new team of staff and a new manager in 2016 after a number retired.

"It has been an eventful time," Sheryl said. "I took on managing the school in 2016 and a lot of the long-standing staff left due to retirement.

"Apart from two staff who stayed on we have built up a new team and we have all been working our socks off for the last two years to make sure we provide the best service possible."

Sheryl said she was thrilled when she was told the school's rating had improved and said she is looking forward to the future.

"We have had a great deal of support from the school's management committee and we have been working closely in partnership with them.

"I feel on top of the world. We have all worked really hard and got a fantastic rating.

"I am looking forward to the future."

The inspector's report found the managers' systems for monitoring the effectiveness of the pupils learning programme quickly identified and addressed any gaps in their learning.

The report said: "Staff have excellent relationships with parents and involve them extremely well in their children's learning from the beginning.

"The management committee and manager support staff extremely well. The manager encourages staff to make the most of training opportunities. They use new knowledge and skills extremely effectively to improve children's learning experiences."

The report also highlighted that staff give the children good support as they learn to manage their feelings and emotions and the school's key-person system helps children settle in quickly and forge relationships.