Scriven Park Pre-school, near Knaresborough, has received a ‘requires improvement’ rating following a recent Ofsted inspection.

Inspectors visited the school in July and published their findings in a report last week.

It was the school’s first inspection since 2018.

The report rated the pre-school as “requires improvement” in four areas including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

It said that “children do not make the best possible progress” at the school and that “during spontaneous play staff do not consistently provide sufficient challenge to children to fully engage them and extend their learning”.

The report added:

“Staff carry out risk assessments to help provide a safe place for children to play and learn.

“Staff are able to recognise risks to children during play.

“However, during the inspection, there was some broken equipment in the outdoor area. When this was identified staff took immediate action, removed the hazard, and discussed how ongoing procedures would improve.”

The inspector also noted:

“There has been a change to the manager of the pre-school in the last year. The new manager has a clear vision and plans for the continuous improvement of the setting.

“These plans are starting to have an impact, meaning that staff morale is high, and staff feel valued. However, supervision of staff, including the manager, is not targeted enough to support ongoing professional development.

“Additionally, coaching of staff is not yet effective to support them to consistently promote good quality education.”

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In order to improve, the report said the pre-school must “enhance the quality of teaching, so that staff’s interactions consistently respond to the spontaneous opportunities that arise during children’s play to challenge their thinking and learning”.

In addition, it must “extend opportunities for children to access a range of mark-making resources to support their early writing skills”.

However, the inspector did note that staff “provide a very nurturing environment, where children’s care and well-being are given priority”.

They also added:

“Staff know children well, meaning they can identify when children may need some extra help to support their development.

“The manager and staff have good links with other professionals.

“This means that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive good care, support, and development opportunities.”

This year’s inspection saw the pre-school downgraded from a previous ‘good’ rating.

Scriven Park Preschool registered in 2011 and admits children aged two to four-years-old.

The Stray Ferret approached the school for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.