SCHOOLS and nurseries throughout Worcestershire are celebrating today after being labelled 'outstanding' by Government inspectors.

The Office For Standards In Education, Children's Services and Skills(Ofsted)this morning published its annual report for 2009/09.

It lists 12 schools, 43 childcare providers and one social care provider in Worcestershire as outstanding.

In Herefordshire, seven schools, 26 childcare providers and one social care provider were judged to be outstanding.

Among those on the the list were Nunnery Wood High School, Worcester, and Wyche CE School, Malvern.

Alun Williams, headteacher at Nunnery Wood, said: "We were all thrilled with Ofsted's report about Nunnery Wood and we are delighted to be included in the Ofsted Annual Report. "Everyone has worked so hard to make this school the success that it is today - staff, governors, parents and especially students. “Our Ofsted report is an accurate reflection of the school and we are absolutely delighted that the team thought so highly of us. "‘Outstanding’ is now our new benchmark and we shall expect everything that we do from now on to measure up to that. "But at the same time we are not complacent - outstanding doesn't mean perfect and we are now working even harder to make our school even better."

Geoff Rutherford, headteacher at Wyche CE School, said: "I am delighted that the report acknowledges not just the innovative curriculum but also recognises the significant contribution made by all groups within the school community; from the teachers and teaching assistants to the governors, parents and the children themselves.”

Ofsted’s Annual Report was launched nationally by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector Christine Gilbert and brings together evidence from almost 40,000 inspections carried out during 2008/9.

The report acknowledges overall progress and many successes, but also focuses on where improvements must still be made.

It highlights the continuing gap between the best and worst provision for children, young people and adult learners, and challenges those who deliver services that are mediocre or inadequate.

Ms Gilbert, said: "I would like to congratulate all who contributed to the success of outstanding provision across all areas of education and children’s social care in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. "This is good news, not just for the providers but for the children and young people who benefit from such excellent services.”

National highlights from the report show that nearly seven out of 10 of schools were good or outstanding (69%) – compared to 64% last year and 59% in 2005/6.

Nearly two thirds of childcare was good or outstanding in 2008/9 (65%), higher than in the previous year.

Most local authorities are providing good quality services for looked after children; for example, nearly two thirds of children’s homes were good or outstanding (64%).

The majority of colleges (63%) inspected in 2008/9 were judged good or outstanding, with an increase since 2005/6 in the proportion that are outstanding (20%, compared to 13% in 2005/6).

However, along with celebrating success, Ofsted’s Annual Report highlights where problems continue and shows that much is still to be done to improve the quality of services provided to children, young people and adult learners.

FOR more information on Ofsted's list of outstanding schools and childcare providers see tomorrow's Worcester News.