IN THE latest round of Ofsted inspections, early years child care providers and nurseries in North Somerset beat the regional average standard.

There were nine care providers inspected in the region by the education watchdog between July 1 and August 31.

One child care provider in North Somerset has been registered as inadequate and will require re-inspection, but two providers were graded as outstanding and five were deemed good.

The two providers were graded as outstanding for their overall effectiveness, the quality of leadership and management, the contribution of the provision to the wellbeing of children and how well the provision meets the needs of the children who attend.

Five providers rated as good in these categories. One provider was told its overall effectiveness required improvement, and one was considered inadequate in all categories except how well the provision meets the needs of the children who attend.

There were 254 inspections of early years and childcare providers across the South West between July 1 and August 31.

Of these, 12 (five per cent) were outstanding, 175 (69 per cent) were good, 49 (19 per cent) required improvement and 18 (seven per cent) were inadequate.

The North Somerset percentage equivalent for this period is 22 per cent outstanding and just 11 per cent inadequate.

An Ofsted spokesman said: “Nurseries and other early years providers are getting better.

“These statistics show that four-fifths have been judged to be good or outstanding at their most recent inspection.

“However, the gaps for the poorest children are still too wide.

“We are clear that good teaching is essential to help more young children, particularly those from poorer areas, be ready to learn when they begin primary school. We are working with those providers judged to require improvement to help them provide a better service for young children and their parents. We are consulting on the future of education inspection and would urge nurseries and other providers to consider our consultation carefully.”

Since September 1, 2012, in North Somerset 316 child care providers have been inspected.

Of these, 63 are currently graded as outstanding for overall effectiveness, 191 are good, 61 require improvement and one is inadequate. Of the 6,690 early years providers in the South West, 14 per cent are outstanding, 67 per cent are registered as good, 17 per cent require improvement and one per cent is inadequate.