Inspectors have praised the commitment of staff at a Dereham nursery in their most recent visit.

Little Footsteps were visited by Ofsted in February, four years after they were originally told they were good - the body's second highest rating.

And inspectors found that the nursery still deserved that grade in the latest visit, with inspector Karen Harris describing the team as 'committed to providing children with high-quality experiences'.

She said pupils 'build secure bonds with staff, which helps them to feel safe and secure in their environment' and also noted that the staff responded well to meet the individual needs of the children and knew them well.

Parents spoke highly of the nursery and commented that they would recommend it to others.

Staff also encouraged parents to share 'detailed information about their children's capabilities' when they first started at the nursery, and continued to keep parents 'well informed of their children's progress'.

Literacy was highlighted as being promoted well throughout the nursery, with regular access to books and resources to stimulate early reading and writing, but the inspector found room for improvement in number work.

The nursery just missed out on an outstanding rating after the inspector advised staff to 'make the most of everyday activities to extend children's awareness of mathematical language and counting'.

The report went on to say that effective strategies were in place to manage any identified gaps in learning and that additional funding was spent to help promote learning.

Both the indoor and outdoor learning environments were described as 'stimulating' and children were given opportunities to 'build their confidence as they explore and make choices for themselves'.

During the inspection, pupils particularly enjoyed spending time outside being 'busy and active in the fresh air' as they 'eagerly experiment with sand and water'.

Babies in the setting were also given ample space to move around safely and staff responded well to 'babies' verbalisation and babble'.

Overall the inspector said 'all children make good progress in their learning given their starting points and capabilities'.