FARLEY Nursery School has retained its “outstanding’’ rating following an Ofsted inspection just before the Covid-19 crisis.

The outdoor learning school, located on Church Road, Farley, also has settings in Steeple Langford and Sparsholt both of which are also rated outstanding by Ofsted.

The report judged the nursery outstanding in all four areas - quality of education; behaviour and attitudes, personal development; and leadership and management.

It said: “Children are exceptionally motivated and keen to try new activities and learn new skills. The highly skilled staff deliver a rich and varied curriculum that very much takes into account the individual needs of the children and is tailored to meet these.”

Inspectors said that children show “high levels of confidence and a real can-do attitude to their learning”, adding: “Children thrive and make exceptionally good progress in all areas of their learning and are very well prepared for the next stage in their learning or the move to school.”

The report also praised the “effective methods” used by the nursery to observe children’s progress. It said: “There are very effective methods to observe and assess children’s progress and involve parents in planning the next stage in children’s learning. As a result, children thrive and make excellent progress in all areas of their learning. The key-person system is particularly effective and staff know their individual key children exceptionally well. This means the plans are tailored to the children’s individual needs and what they need to learn next.”

Sue Palmer, the founder and principal of Farley Nursery, said: “Our Farley setting was our first nursery school and has now been recognised as outstanding for over ten years which is very rewarding. I would like to thank our inspirational staff and supportive parents.”

The nursery has providing childcare for front line key workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.