UNDER fives in Worcestershire enjoy a great start to their educational life, according to a new Government report.

Education watchdog Ofsted has identified improvements to registered childcare and early education across the country and singled out seven of Worcestershire’s nurseries which were judged ‘outstanding’ in recent inspections.

Among them were London Road Playgroup and Pre-School in St Martin’s Parish Centre, Victoria Avenue, Worcester, and Droitwich Spa Nursery and Kindergarten, at The Hollies, Worcester Road, Droitwich.

The nursery’s manager Pam Kasperczyk said: “We do well because of the staff’s commitment, loyalty and hard work. We worked towards the outstanding grade from when it came out in 2005.

“We were always very good but when they brought in the outstanding we wanted to achieve that.

“It’s about the fact we all believe in getting the best from children.”

Owner Philippa Fell said staff were “absolutely thrilled” with the recognition.

The report, called Leading to Excellence: A review of childcare and early education provision 2005-08, shows how more early years and childcare settings are meeting Government requirements than three years ago.

In 2005, less than 80 per cent of registered settings met national standards but the figure has risen to 97 per cent with 60 per cent ranked as good or outstanding.

The watchdog believes recommendations made in inspections have raised standards and wants other providers to learn from those identified as the best.

Her Majesty’s chief inspector, Christine Gilbert, said: “Good organisation, leadership and management are at the heart of effective provision.

“We hope this report will serve as a useful tool to help those who are making good progress to carry on their excellent work, to motivate those that are satisfactory to do better and to ensure all children benefit from improved outcomes.”

She added providers should use best practice contained in the report for their own self- evaluation.

However, despite the success, the report also highlighted concerns about the variations in the quality of childcare across the early years sector and the country.

According to Ofsted, full day-care settings are better than out-of-school schemes, levels of inadequate childminding have risen over the last three years and deprived areas have lower quality services than more affluent ones.

The full report is available at ofsted.gov.uk.