St Andrew’s Pre-School is celebrating being upgraded to ‘good’ by Ofsted inspectors.

The pre-school, on St Andrew’s Road, was ranked ‘satisfactory’ in its last inspection four years ago.

The report in July found that all children make good progress because they are interested in the activities provided by staff, indoor and outdoor areas provide a welcoming learning environment, staff build strong bonds with children and parents and children are safe and secure in the pre-school’s care.

However, it highlighted one area the pre-school could improve on to achieve the top ‘outstanding’ rating.

The report said: “The programme for understanding the world has not been fully extended to incorporate activities that help children learn about cultural diversity and the wider social world.”

The school was rated ‘good’ in overall effectiveness and in all other areas – including meeting the needs of the range of children who attend, quality of teaching, leadership and management.

Pre-school leader Gitte Mowatt said: “We are delighted and would like to thank all the parents for their positive comments. We’re further developing the Forest School area.

“We have excellent links with Bridport Primary School who generously allow us to use their extensive wooded grounds.

“Our indoor soft-play area is now up and running and is very popular with the children.

“New rhyme time bags, which the children can take home every week, are also enjoyed by all. The large veranda is now underway and will offer further opportunities for outdoor play in all weathers.”

The pre-school was first established in 1975 and operates from the old school house in Bridport.

The report said the pre-school has made recommended improvements suggested at the last inspection back in 2010.

It added: “For example, staff have attended various courses covering different areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage to enhance their knowledge and promote better outcomes for the children.

“All the children have fun and enjoy the freedom of choosing to play indoors or outdoors.

“Staff offer a fun play environment that provides many exciting learning opportunities for children.

“Throughout the pre-school overall, children use a broad range of resources and equipment that encourages the development of their physical skills as well as other areas of learning.”

Changes to the way Ofsted inspects schools came into play on September 1, 2012.

Before the changes, inspectors could judge schools to be ‘inadequate’, ‘satisfactory’, ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.

In the new framework, the satisfactory grade has become ‘requires improvement’, while the other categories remain the same.

It aims to show that ‘satisfactory’ is now unsatisfactory and that more schools should be pushing for the higher rating of ‘good’.

A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate and will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of the previous one.