STAFF at a Witney pre-school are thrilled to have been branded 'outstanding’ in a recent Ofsted report.

Cogges Pre-School received the education watchdog's highest accolade after a visit from inspectors last month – improving on their previous rating of 'good'.

Inspectors said pupils at the pre-school made ‘excellent progress’ in learning development and praised staff for being ‘extremely responsive’ to the needs of children.

Pre-school manager Stella Johnson said the impressive report was a result of the efforts of the centre’s hardworking team.

She said: “I am extremely pleased with our outstanding Ofsted result.

"This is due to our fantastic, dedicated and hardworking team here at Cogges.

“This result has given us all a tremendous boost and is a great way to finish off the school year.

"We will be celebrating with the children and parents at our summer party and our AGM in July and I’m sure as a staff team we will be having another celebration as well.”

The report said the manager and committee have high expectations for staff and the children and that ‘staff form exceptional links with other professionals, such as reception teachers, to help them provide 'excellent support for children' as they move on to school.

It said that all children make excellent progress in their learning and development.

The report added that the pre-school’s team deploy themselves well to ensure that they are 'constantly challenging children’s next steps'.

In the report, inspector Helen Harnew wrote: “All children show high levels of independence and are extremely well prepared for their next stages in learning or moves to school.

"For example, children serve their own snacks and meals and pour their own drinks.

“They develop excellent self-help skills, for example, they dress and undress themselves successfully.”

Inspectors said the pre-school could further develop its early years provision by exploring ways of reducing the noise levels at certain times to help children remain as engaged as possible on their chosen tasks

Philippa Payne and Jennifer Webster are co-chairwomen of the pre-school’s committee.

In a joint statement, they said: “As volunteer co-chairs, we couldn’t be more delighted with our Ofsted result.

“We are consistently impressed with how hard all the staff work to ensure Cogges Pre-School is a wonderful place for our children to play and learn.

“We’ve loved playing our part as chairs, and also wish to thank the rest of the committee members who support us so well.”

The school in Church Lane has 49 children on its roll.