THERE were smiles all round at a Crook nursery after it was rated outstanding in all areas by Ofsted.

Following a visit earlier this month, inspectors described teaching at Westfield House Nursery as “exceptional” and praised staff for providing an exciting, challenging and safe learning environment.

Children were noted as being “extremely motivated, independent and confident in their play”, while staff were described as “warmly attentive.”

The nursery was rated good in 2014 and staff are delighted to have progressed to outstanding.

Manager Claire Renwick said: “I’ve got an amazing team at Westfield House and to be recognised as an outstanding nursery is a tribute to all our hard work and dedication. Our goal is to cultivate within our children a lifelong passion for learning and exploration and we use lots of open -ended and natural resources to develop imaginations and creativity. We work extremely hard to create a learning environment that is inspiring and challenging to ensure we achieve the very best outcomes for all children.”