A PRE-SCHOOL forced to close in July after a damning Ofsted report will reopen in January with new staff, the Oxford Mail can reveal.

Park Pre-School, which has had thousands of Didcot children pass through its doors since it opened in 1962, has been completely redecorated and will relaunch on January 4 with a new manager.

After being blighted by staff leaving and suffering long-term sickness, an Ofsted inspection in November last year found unqualified, underage students left in charge of children and toddlers “aimlessly floating” between activities.

Inspectors rated the pre-school’s effectiveness, leadership and standards inadequate.

It finally closed in July, after parents voted with their feet and numbers fell from 50 to eight.

Since then, a new board of trustees led by Sutton Courtenay accountant Derek Johnson has been working to reopen the Queensway pre-school to local children aged between two and five.

They have already redecorated inside and cleared the pre-school’s garden, and now they are holding an open day on Saturday, December 12, to let parents see the improvements and hopefully sign up their children for January, when it will open on weekday mornings.

Mr Johnson said: “We want to close the chapter on the last particular book. Park Pre-School has been transformed from how it used to look.

“This will be a friendly, caring environment, and we want parents to feel comfortable and involved here. We want it to be part of the community again. We know children who benefit from early years learning grow up a lot better later in life.

“There are lots of people in Didcot right back to the 1960s who went to the pre-school, and we want to offer that to another generation.”

New manager Victoria Hoyle, 22, a qualified nursery teacher, said: “I just want to see a lot of happy children and parents.

“I want it to be a nice, safe learning environment.”

Trustees of the registered charity that runs the pre-school are now looking to recruit extra staff to help run it when it reopens next month.

The pre-school will accept nursery vouchers for three-year-olds, which allow parents to get five Government-funded sessions for their children every week.

Extra sessions will cost £8.50 or £9.50 for two-and-a-half hours.

For all inquiries, call Ms Hoyle on 01235 510394 or 07837 628758.