THE committee that runs an Oxenhope pre-school has vowed to fix the problems flagged up in an Ofsted report, which deemed the school "inadequate".

Oxenhope pre-school, based at the village's community centre, was visited by inspectors late last month, and a report of their findings has now been released.

The report said the quality of teaching was inadequate, that staff do not have an adequate understanding of characteristics of effective teaching and that the committee breached legal requirements by failing to let Ofsted know of changes in committee membership.

The school is run by a volunteer committee, and members say they were already making a number of improvements to the pre-school before the inspection took place.

Other criticisms in the report include that children are not always supported in effective learning and that some children are not well prepared for school.

It also says: "Hygiene control in the kitchen and other areas of the premises is not sufficient to ensure children are protected from infection."

However, it does praise several aspects, saying parents are "generally happy" and that links with the village's primary school are strong.

Tony Neary, treasurer of the committee, said: "We had an action plan in place before the Ofsted inspection.

"This was just a snapshot of the day, and we don't believe things will be like this when the inspectors return.

"We're making good progress already. We've made a number of changes in the committee over the last few months where we have worked towards what we think are the requirements to achieve good under the new Ofsted framework.

"We've now got a primary school teacher and early years practitioner on the committee. The key thing for the community is we get the pre-school back to where it should be. It is important we take this report seriously.

"A number of issues raised have already been addressed. Fundamentally it is a safe place and the local primary school that takes most of these children on has not raised any issues.

"But we have to accept that what inspectors saw on the day was not what is required, but I don't think it's representative of the day to day running of the school. It is a black and white report, but we are now in a position to improve things."

He said the inspectors came on the day before the building's windows were going to be replaced, and Mr Neary admitted the building was "not in its best state."

Parents had already been informed of the inspection, and Mr Neary said most were supportive of the school.

Because of the rating, inspectors will visit again within six months to see if any of the recommended changes have been implemented.