MANAGER Jan Amor was left shocked after an Ofsted report said Cherhill Pre-school requires improvement.

The inspection moved the pre-school down from its previous good rating to the lower rung of needing to improve.

Mrs Amor said she was upset to see the pre-school had dropped categories but said it did not reflect the care or teaching provided by the village pre-school.

She blamed the low ranking on an administration problem which happened because the person who used to look after the paperwork had left and the relevant forms could not be found on the day the inspectors arrived.

But she reassured parents that everything was now in order and she was confident the status would go up back up after another inspection which is expected within the next few weeks.

She said: “I was devastated to have this report, but I know the report didn’t reflect on the practice itself and it doesn’t reflect on the children in our care. It was just such a shock.”

The inspection, which was carried out on January 27, stated that the manager was unaware of the latest government initiatives linked to safeguarding, so is unable to support the staff in understanding all the potential dangers to young children. The report also stated positive aspects of the school such as the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, receiving a good rating, and the outcomes for the children which were also good.

Mrs Amor said: “Everything picked up on the report has been dealt with. Ofsted will be coming back in a year for a follow up. It was so annoying, we hadn’t been made aware of the recent government initiatives. Since the inspection all of the staff have had two lots of training with another session taking place in March.”

In the report the inspector mentioned that not all of the documentation is available for inspection and that the provider cannot demonstrate the robust sustainability checks have been taken up for all staff.

“It was a simple admin error as we hadn’t found reference and the inspector didn’t have the time for us to find it. The next day we found all of the relevant forms and references and Ofsted were informed. Our admin lady left last year and we have had temps in since then. We have a full-time administrator starting next month,” said Mrs Armor.