BEXTON pre-school nursery celebrated the official opening of its new home on Friday.

The nursery, which was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted earlier this year, has become part of the newly-named Bexton Primary School and Nursery and has moved to a new building in the grounds of the primary school.

Speaking at Friday’s opening ceremony, headteacher Emily Armstrong said: “Today gives us the opportunity to say a huge thank you to all those people who have given their time, energy and skills to get the new preschool building ready for the start of term, and in doing so have made our vision a reality.

“It’s been a race against time, and there have been nail-biting times when we weren’t sure we would get everything done, but with a mammoth effort from everyone involved we did it, and the results are spectacular.”

The nursery previously operated as a charity providing pre-school care and education for children aged two to five years from a plot just beyond the primary school grounds.

But when the opportunity arose for it to become part of the school, both organisations quickly recognised the benefits of joining forces.

“Expanding our provision by bringing on board what is already an outstanding nursery made total sense,” added Emily, who was appointed headteacher of Bexton Primary in May 2016 after seven years as assistant head at the school.

“Working as one organisation will make the children’s transition from nursery to school as natural and enjoyable as it can possibly be. It also means we can offer wraparound care for our children from 2-11 years, including breakfast, after-school and holiday clubs, providing essential support for local families.”

Nursery manager Louise Barker said: “We knew we could do even more for our children if we had a better environment to work and play in.

“As well as two light and spacious classrooms, we have a fantastic all-weather garden with mud kitchen and access to woodland where we will offer forest school activities.

“The extra space means we can now care for more of the children on our waiting list.

"We now have the resources to accommodate 52 children over the week across our two classrooms without compromising the relaxed, family atmosphere and culture that is central to everything we do.”

The prefab building that now houses the nursery was secured free of charge from Great Sankey High School in Warrington.

In the past 10 weeks it has been transformed, with wooden cladding to the external walls, a permanent awning and re-laid garden.

Teams of parents, staff and generous-hearted local tradespeople dedicated their time during the summer break to paint internal walls, install plumbing, construct fences and build furniture.

Parent and Associate Governor James Hulme, who was instrumental in acquiring the prefab building, added: "I’ve been delighted to assist in such a valuable and exciting project. The efforts and contributions of the dedicated and outstanding staff, alongside the fantastic parents and wider community, which the pre-school nursery will serve and benefit, are a tangible and enduring illustration of Bexton’s guiding belief that ‘together we can make a difference.’”