Meet new manager of Langford nursery who aims to drive 'rapid improvement' after 'disappointing' Ofsted

The new manager of BEST Nursery Langford has pledged to work with colleagues and families to bring about change following a “disappointing” Ofsted inspection.

Rachel Howarth has been appointed nursery hub manager and, while she has already started some duties, will formally take up the post on January 30.

The action follows a report published this month which ranked the setting as Inadequate not just overall, but in all four inspection areas: Quality of Education; Behaviour and Attitudes; Personal Development; and Leadership and Management.

Rachel said: “I’m very excited about starting and am looking forward to working with the team across BEST, nursery staff, parents and the children to drive rapid improvement. There have been some really good strides made in putting together an action plan and moving that forward already.

"Parents have said they would like some more information, so we are planning to invite them in on a couple of evenings and talk to them about our targeted actions in more detail. We felt a face-to-face discussion and giving them the chance to ask questions would be the best opportunity to talk about how we are going to make those rapid improvements and explain our thinking behind everything.”

Rachel trained as a primary teacher but the bulk of her teaching experience has been in the Early Years sector, in reception and nursery. At the moment, she is a class teacher in Luton, leading the Early Years team. She also completed her Masters in Education at the University of Cambridge.

Rachel will oversee the two other settings that fall under the BEST Nurseries umbrella at Arlesey and Shefford, too.

She explained: “What I’m looking for is consistency across the three settings and having a real good link. For example, Shefford has got a Good Ofsted, so they have got great strengths that we want bring across. Part of my role will be liaising with the trust’s Central Services team and working with them to develop training for staff.”

BEST Chief Executive Officer, Dr Alan Lee, added: “We are thrilled to appoint someone of Rachel’s calibre. Already, she is having a huge positive impact. Working together with the nursery community, BEST Central staff and Central Bedfordshire Council, I am confident that we will deliver nursery provision of the highest quality.”