Sunshine Preschool rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted

Deeplish Community Centre’s Sunshine Preschool team with parents and children

Sunshine Preschool at the Deeplish Surestart Children's Centre has been rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted, following a recent inspection.

During the visit on 15 February, inspectors noted that children and their families “are very fortunate to be able to access” the preschool with particular praise for supporting special educational needs and disabilities.

Staff were praised for being “relentless in their quest to provide children with opportunities to grow” and “work with other agencies to ensure no child is left behind.”

Children were said to be making “very good progress as a result” and staff know children “exceptionally well”: quieter children are supported by staff to gain confidence as they give them one-to-one support and encouragement to engage in activities.

The report outlines how “Children are given countless opportunities to talk. Staff converse in children's home language to help build confidence, and they use this to prompt the use of English. Staff use ambitious language with the children like 'translucent' when talking about different materials. To encourage speech further, staff use a microphone for children to sing into. Even the quietest children are keen to have a turn to hear what their loud voice sounds like.”

Parents say that their children have good relationships with staff and their confidence has grown since attending Sunshine.

Safeguarding arrangements were effective, with “robust procedures,” and “a secure understanding of their responsibilities” for staff.

Inspectors added that staff members are “well versed” on warning signs and symptoms of a child suffering abuse or harm and “understand the significance of reporting and documenting concerns about children or staff. Staff members are aware that they can, if necessary, disclose problems to other experts outside of the pre-school.”

Shabina Kauser, setting manager said: “We are very confident in supporting children with special needs. A significant strength of our setting is how much children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported. Our staffing team identify gaps in progress and work tirelessly to develop children's listening skills to maximise their learning opportunities and to develop relationships.

“The management committee and staff are extremely proud to see this success in supporting many children and families in a diverse and culturally appropriate setting throughout the years at Sunshine Preschool. We are also thankful for the support and professional advice from our local authority partners and early years team.”

Operations manager Sohail Ahmad said: “It has been an exceptionally good Ofsted report at Sunshine Preschool, and we are pleased to see a community-friendly preschool achieving excellence in early years.”

Preschool committee chair, Mohammed Saleem JP said: “It’s good to see local children cared for in a local community setting which is culturally strong and vibrant.

“We wish the very best to all our preschool children and parents and we look forward to all children achieving excellence at primary school.”