Ofsted has downgraded an Oldham day care from top marks.

St. Anne’s Pre-School, located on Ormerod Avenue in Royton, previously received the top possible grade of ‘outstanding’.

In a report published on Friday (July 21) the nursery, which cares for 45 children, was downgraded to the second-best grade of ‘good’.

Inspector Rebecca Weston carried out the visit at the pre-school, which was its first inspection in six years.

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Children, who range in age from two to four, were said to form ‘loving bonds’ and relationships with staff and ‘arrive excitedly’ at the nursery.

Staff were praised for supporting children’s independence, with children said to be confident in their abilities and showing high levels of self-esteem.

Special educational needs provision at the nursery was also praised, with pupils said to make 'good progress' due to work by a 'knowledgeable and passionate' co-ordinator.

Children were also said to enjoy exploring the ‘wide range of books’ available at the pre-school,  with older children using books to learn, and show a ‘real interest’ in stories.

Maths teaching was also integrated into the children’s day-to-day activities, such as telling children about cutting bananas in to ‘quarters’.

While staff were mostly praised throughout the report, and were said to be good at teaching overall, the inspector said the curriculum was not always implemented consistently.

The report went on to say that staff did not always consider what they intended children to learn through activities, meaning children were not supported to make the highest level of progress in their learning.

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While the relationship between leadership and staff was said to be supportive, with frequent meetings, arrangements were criticised as being ‘not fully effective’ in identifying ‘minor inconsistencies’.

The report said there was scope to further develop systems to raise the quality of practice to be consistently high.

Overall, the nursery was told it should support staff to understand what they intend children to learn and how to consistently promote progress, as well as strengthen monitoring arrangements, in order to improve.