Shepley Preschool: Yorkshire preschool ‘so proud’ of first ‘outstanding’ Ofsted in over 30 years

Shepley Preschool, which in Firth Street in Shepley, was established in 1992 and is a registered charity. Across the preschool and out of school club, children from nine months to 10 years old are cared for. It is run by a voluntary committee and managed by Emma Booth, with Natalie Firth as deputy manager.

In an inspection last month, Ofsted gave the setting an outstanding rating across all areas – the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management – with the preschool previously rated ‘good’.

Inspectors praised the “safe, caring and exciting” learning environment provided for children, as well as the “extremely passionate, caring and very enthusiastic” practitioners who encourage children to learn and behave “very well” and foster “outstanding” relationships with parents.

Manager Emma Booth said: “We are so proud of this achievement and want to thank all of the 18 staff members for their contribution and dedication to the preschool.

"As a setting, we focus on children’s mental health and wellbeing and outdoor learning in our community garden. We also focus on planning exciting experiences for all our children both in setting and on trips in our local community.

“We were excited to welcome two of our local councillors into the setting to celebrate our outstanding achievement – John Taylor and John Cowan.

“This outstanding judgement from Ofsted honestly means the world to me and the staff team. We have worked so hard over the last few years to develop the curriculum that we offer to the families who attend Shepley Preschool. This work includes a robust wellbeing programme for our children and parents as well as a brand new community garden that we plan to continue to develop. Our most valuable asset is our staff and how we work together as a team!”

Councillor Taylor said: I’m really pleased to say that all the hard work by the team at Shepley Preschool has been recognised by Ofsted. It was great to visit and to meet all the children and see how enthusiastic the team was.”