MP visits 'outstanding' nursery school

Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert visited the Garden Cottage Nursery School near Washington last week (Monday 27 July) to congratulate it on receiving a second ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rating.

The MP met the nursery’s founder Jane Denman and headteacher Kerry Ancliff who has been with the nursery since it first opened fifteen years ago.

Garden Cottage Nursery opened in 2000 and is set in the South Downs on Highden Farm, near Washington, next to Windlesham School.  

The nursery now has a Forest School, providing a natural outdoor environment where the children can play in a mud kitchen and build dens.  The children learn how to care for the farm’s chickens and lambs, and grow fruit and vegetables in the walled garden.

Ofsted’s report said that “the quality of teaching [at the nursery] is exceptional” and that “staff expertly facilitate children’s play, giving them ample time to explore and investigate”. 

Nick Herbert said: “I was delighted to visit Garden Cottage Nursery to congratulate them on their recent Ofsted inspection.  

"I could instantly see why the nursery received the highest rating and is so popular.  This is a wonderful environment for children, and Jane and her staff are a credit to early years education”

ENDS

Notes  

   1.    Photograph 1 attached – Nick Herbert MP with Kerry Ancliff (left), Amber Stoodley (right) and children at the Garden Cottage Nursery.

   2.    For more information about the Garden Cottage Nursery see www.gardencottagenursery.com.

   3.    To read the Garden Cottage Ofsted report 2015 see http://gardencottagenursery.com/about-us-ofsted-report/.