Nursery pupils and staff are celebrating after they were rated ‘outstanding’ by inspectors for a FIFTH consecutive time.

Lee Royd Nursery School on Royd Street in Accrington has received top marks from Ofsted who said it is a ‘happy place to learn or work’.

The nursery, which has 113 children aged between two and four, was previously rated outstanding in 2004, 2008, 2011 and 2014.

New headteacher Karen Smith praised the work done by her predecessor Karen Coffey who retired last Christmas after more than a decade at the nursery.

She said: “She left a fantastic legacy for the school to continue.

“We wanted to keep the standards as high as we can and I’m always looking at ways we can develop and new initiatives we can get involved with and move things forward.

“It’s a fantastic achievement for us and it’s exciting times.

“The inspectors were amazed with out fantastic environment and how much we spend on the children with all the resources.

“They were also pleased with the variety of different activities and things that we do with the children.”

Lead inspector Tim Vaughan praised Mrs Smith since taking over the reins of the nursery and said she has ‘set the right tone for moving the school forward’.

In his report, he said: “Teachers and teaching assistants believe in the changes you are bringing about to support and improve their skills. You show a deep understanding of the needs of local families, the quality of teaching provided by staff and education in the early years.

“Parents and carers are very supportive of the school. The school remains an extremely well-resourced, organised nursery that provides children with a wide range of fascinating opportunities to learn.

“Children spend much time exploring outdoors, including being energetic and physically active.

“You are clear about what is going well in the school and what could be better.

“While the most successful teaching makes a big difference to children’s learning, you recognise that some teaching needs to be more skilful.”

Mr Vaughan said children continue to ‘develop strongly in their personal development and their behaviour’ and are ‘confident, happy and enthusiastic learners’.