Between April 2010 and June 2013 Ofsted the official body for inspecting schools embarked on a review of children's centres up and down the country. Out of 152 areas and over 1750 centres inspected, the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham came out on top as providing the best services. Nearly a year on, Ofsted have returned and the latest inspection saw the Leys Children's Centre in Dagenham Village achieve yet another Outstanding.
Jon Cruddas MP for Dagenham and Rainham commented: "It is always a proud moment to see our local children's centres achieving and delivering such a high standard of public service. The Leys children's centre has gone from strength to strength over the past couple of years, and this is primarily down to the amount of hard work that goes into it.
"I'd like to take this opportunity to say congratulations and well done to all of the staff, parents, and to the council who have all helped the centre achieve this result. The level of time and effort invested by all those involved has resulted in Barking and Dagenham boasting some of the best provisions for children in the country."