Delight as two Shropshire nurseries are judged 'outstanding'

Little Explorers Pre-School in Radbrook, Shrewsbury, and The Ark in Hall Bank, Pontesbury, received glowing reports.

In a further cause for celebration for staff and parents both retained the "outstanding" rating they had been awarded on previous visits.

Little Explorers, which has 43 children on its roll aged between two and five, was found to be succeeding in all areas.

Inspectors praised owners Shelly Hurdley and Lyndsey Paddock for their leadership, for making the transition from home to nursery and nursery to school seamless and having excellent relationships with both the children and their parents.

Inspector Mary Henderson said in her report that staff at the nursery, which started in 2007, supported the children well to allow them to be ready for school.

She praised the nursery for its teaching of French and said: "The children become excited as they talk of the French teacher visiting. Children competently use sentences and count using both English and French languages."

The Ark, which has 88 children on its roll, was also judged to be "outstanding" in all areas.

Inspectors praised it for its excellent staff who showed enthusiasm and commitment, which contributed to the exceptional progress of the children.

They also found that the partnerships between parents, other providers and professionals were excellent and that children develop strong emotional attachments with staff.

Miss Hurdley, of Little Explorers, said staff at Little Explorers were delighted with the inspectors' verdict.

She said: "Lyndsey and I are very proud to achieve outstanding in our inspection.

"We are very delighted that all our hard work has been reflected into our grade and we have maintained our grade from our last inspection in May 2011.

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank all children, parents and carers for their continuous support over the last eight years."

Roz Young, manager of The Ark, said: "We are absolutely delighted and it is a credit to the hard work of our staff.

"It is particularly good as we are celebrating our 10th anniversary later this year – and so to get an 'outstanding' is fabulous. We have so many things to celebrate."