A CHAIN of nurseries has completed a dramatic turnaround just over a year after most of its sites were criticised by Ofsted.

The Oxford Nursery in Summertown has been handed a 'good' rating by the education watchdog – bringing it up to the same level as its other two branches.

The Oxford Nursery Group chain manager Dawn Farrell said she was delighted with the improvement after three branches had previously been handed 'inadequate' or 'requires improvement' grades.

While one has since closed, the others have impressed inspectors.

She said: "The Oxford Nursery group of nurseries can now proudly say they are all rated 'good' by Ofsted, with Summertown being the latest success.

"This brings the nurseries up to date with current Ofsted standards to raise the quality of teaching.

"This latest judgement firmly puts the company back to its former history of quality day care and education and the nursery group celebrates 20 years of service to the Oxfordshire communities in April 2017."

When the Summertown nursery was last inspected in December 2015 inspectors said that it required improvement, following a previous report in June when it was rated inadequate in all areas.

In the most recent inspection, however, parents were said to be very happy with the quality of the provision and staff were deemed to know individual children well and respond quickly and sensitively to their needs.

Ms Farrell said: "Well done to the devoted management team and the quality staff working at each of the settings.

"They have worked with dedication and are well deserving of this success."

In her report inspector Penny Fisher said that children were making good progress and that staff monitored children's development closely.

At the time of the inspection the setting in Marston Ferry Road had 22 children aged up to eight on its roll.

Ms Fisher said: "The manager has worked very hard to build an effective and capable new staff team since the last inspection.

"Staff plan a wide range of interesting activities for the children based on what they need

to learn next.

"Staff are kind to the children and provide effective support for families.

Good settling-in procedures ensure that children feel safe and secure in the nursery."

She also recommended some areas where the nursery could improve further by making sure teaching was of a very high standard and further developing plans to improve parental engagement.

The Oxford Nursery now operates three branches –in Summertown, Chalgrove and Eynsham.

Its Littlemore nursery – which had been given a requires improvement rating in late 2015 – has since closed.