A PRE-SCHOOL where children observe hedgehogs and butterflies and build bee gardens has been praised by watchdogs.

The Woodland Montessori Group in Danbury has been rated good in its latest Ofsted report.

The pre-school achieved good ratings across the board, in the four categories of quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

The report highlighted the children’s enjoyment for the setting, adding that they make strong bonds with staff and good friendships, also praising their independence.

It also commended their behaviour, and the practices in place to help this.

The report said: “Children are aware of the nursery's ethos, rules and expectations from an early stage.

“Staff sensitively prompt children and they respond well, tiding away resources ready for the next child.

“Staff encourage children to use sand timers and write their name on a list to wait for their turn to use the scooter outside.

“This results in children tolerating delay and sharing resources well.”

The report also went into detail about some activities, stating that children have countless opportunities for role play, construction, physical play, reading, and being creative, particularly through the garden.

It said: “They take the lead in play, expressing desires for the garden.

“Staff provided bark for children to spread around. This resulted in a winding walkway around trees, creating new areas for children to create dens and fairy gardens.

“They have an untouched area in the garden where they can observe what grows naturally. Children have seen hedgehogs and butterflies.

“They learn to respect them from a distance in their natural habitat. Children are taught to be citizens of the world.

“They created a 'bee garden' to encourage bees to collect pollen from the plants to help look after the planet.”

Deputy Manager Joanne Clark said: “We are super proud of the positive report, and I feel that the Ofsted inspector had a really good understanding of what we do here.

“We were very proud to show off Woodlands, and we had a lovely day with her being here, it is a really good thing that they come along and see the setting first hand.”