Nursery slammed in Ofsted report

The Learning Tree Childcare Centre at the college’s Fulwood campus has 122 children on the roll aged up to 10 years.

Managers have now been instructed to make a range of urgent improvements. If these are not made, they could face being closed down.

Inspector Jacqueline Midgley noted that the facility had the following problems:

- children are exposed to risk because staff do not identify and make safe aspects of the environment that are dangerous. Inspectors noted broken furniture and sharp, rusty screws children played with and around for several days

- practitioners do not recognise children’s progress or understand their needs

- managers do not ensure that a written record of complaints and their outcome are maintained and available

- staff do not receive effective supervision

- staff do not have an up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues, meaning not all staff can identify signs of possible abuse and neglect at the earliest opportunity

- managers do not have a clear understanding of their responsibilities with regard to the Early Years Foundation Stage, which has a significant impact on children’s well-being, learning and development.

The inspector did however mention strengths of the service.

She wrote: “Staff are skilled and sensitive in helping children form secure emotional attachements” and “Children are happy and relaxed.”

Lauren Ward, Learning Tree Childcare Centre manager, said: “While we are obviously very disappointed with the findings of the Ofsted report, the areas for improvement were mainly related to internal processes and so have been straightforward to rectify.

“As such, we are confident that the Nursery is already in a position to return to, and indeed enhance, its previous ‘good’ Ofsted rating when the Nursey is reviewed again in three to six months.

“We have informed parents of the report’s findings and have highlighted the improvements made, and are making, to return to and improve upon the ‘good’ rating the Nursery has held for the last 12 years.

“We were pleased that the Ofsted report stresses that Nursery children are ‘happy and relaxed’ while their ‘independence, good behaviour and social skills are appropriately supported’, as well as highlighting that ‘Parents speak highly of the care provided to their children’.”