A VILLAGE pre-school has blamed its move to a temporary home in a scout hut for a damning report by an education inspector.

Grovelands Park Pre-school in Grove was rated ‘inadequate’ by the government’s education watchdog Ofsted.

The pre-school, which has 33 two to four-year-olds, is currently housed at Grove Scout Hut in Cane Lane, while a new base is built at Millbrook Primary School. It moved to replace a former dilapidated premises.

The report of an inspection carried out last month, says that out of five part-time staff, only three have appropriate early years qualifications.

Ofsted inspector Tracy Bartholomew said the building was too cold and she raised concerns over cleanliness.

Leadership and management was rated weak. She wrote: “Staff continue to use an unhygienic toilet area, floors and carpeted areas are extremely dirty with ground in dirt. Policies and procedures regarding the spread of infection are not robustly adhered to.”

Karen Smith, vice chairman of the committee which runs the pre-school, said: “We are clearly disappointed with the results of the Ofsted report, but pleased that we will be given the opportunity to rectify this when we move into the new building in March.

“All action points were dealt with immediately and the report findings were very much centred round the temporary building and not the welfare of the children, which is very re-assuring for the committee.”

Parent and committee member Mary Hammond said: “It would never have arisen if we had not had to go into temporary accommodation for so long.”

Zoe Patrick, an Oxfordshire County Council member for Wantage and Grove, said: “Let us hope that once they are relocated to new premises their performance will improve."”

wantage@oxfordmail.co.uk