New horizons for Northampton playgroup after climbing back from lacklustre Ofsted report

A Northampton playschool has been rated 'Good' in all areas after climbing back from a unflattering inspection it earned two years ago.

Ofsted has offered an olive branch for Noah's Ark Playgroup in its latest inspection after it came up short in a visit in 2019.

At the time the children's centre on the grounds of St Luke's CE Primary School in St Crispin was rated as "requires improvement" after inspectors found concerns over safeguarding policy and deeming activities were not challenging enough.

Now, in a new report published on June 11, Ofsted praised the playschool and rated it as "good" across the board.

The report reads: "Children enjoy attending this welcoming playgroup. They arrive happily and are pleased to see their friends and the staff.

"There are high expectations for children at this playgroup. Staff supervise them them well [and] support them effectively.

"Children behave very well. They know about the playgroup values, which are 'to be safe, kind, respectful and to have fun'."

The report also praised the number of practical lessons they saw, including making potions with sand and leaves, playing with vegetables, digging with trowels and making parcels with tape and scissors.

Meanwhile, inspectors gave the playgroup a green light over its safeguarding policies following on from the report in 2019.

A member of Noah's Ark's committee told the Chronicle & Echo: "We have a really strong team who have worked hard in the past two years to get us into a really good place.

"Thank you to all our parents, staff and our committee for their support."