An Oxfordshire nursery ranked as one of the top nurseries in South East England has been rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.

Sparkling Minds Pre-School and Day Nursery near Bicester was praised by inspectors after the assessment on June 16.

The report reads: “Children thrive in this nurturing and welcoming setting.

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“They build warm and caring attachments with staff and demonstrate they feel emotionally secure.

“Staff know children well and provide a stimulating learning environment for children of all ages.

“They identify children's individual next steps in learning and provide activities that promote these effectively.

“Staff place a high priority in supporting children and their families in readiness for their move on to other settings, such as school.

“Children are excited to explore, whether they are playing in the sand pit or demonstrating their understanding of letter sounds.

“They learn new skills through carefully thought-out activities.”

Sparking Minds offers provision for children between zero and four years of age.

It is a family-owned business situated in former farm buildings in Weston-on-the-Green, four miles southwest of Bicester.

It sits close to transport links between Bicester and Kidlington and is on the main route to Oxford.

Last year it was ranked as one of the top 20 nurseries in the region by parents.

The award from leading day nurseries reviews site, daynurseries.co.uk was based on feedback from the children’s families and carers.

The Sparkling Minds team told parents after the inspection: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who took the time to speak with the inspector at drop off (and those that dashed up the path with our well-timed parent questionnaires).

“Your input most definitely had an impact on her informed decision making as she was particularly impressed with the ‘overwhelming’ positivity and support from our families.

“This start to the day meant the experience itself continued on a positive note and it allowed the team to be a little more at ease, allowing them all to shine!

“The hard work and continued dedication of the whole ‘Sparkling Minds Family’ really is something to celebrate.”

The Ofsted report continued: “The strong leadership team is experienced, knowledgeable and understand how children learn and develop.

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“They are passionate about their setting and have a clear vision for the future of the nursery.

“The leadership team works closely together to continually review and develop the setting.

“Leaders recognise that they need to support staff working with younger children to help them consistently build on and extend children's learning.

“However, arrangements to address this are not fully embedded.”