A NURSERY near Knowle has
been given the worst possible rating by inspectorate Ofsted with concerns about
child safety and the quality of teaching and learning.
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Wittsend Day Nursery in Barston Lane
It said children’s safety is
“potentially compromised because the provider's procedures for addressing
significant hazards, such as faults to the nursery's boiler, are ineffective”.
It said the nursery is “not sufficiently
vigilant about ensuring children are kept safe” after Ofsted responded to staff
concerns about the safety of the boiler, which was reported to be giving off an
oily smell.
Its report said: “On the day
of the inspection, the provider was not able to demonstrate she had taken
sufficient action to minimise the risks to children and adults or to meet
environmental health requirements.”
It said while action had been
taken the boiler had “not been made fully safe”.
It added: “Weaknesses in
staff deployment have also potentially affected children's safety and resulted
in safeguarding and welfare requirements for adult-to-child ratios not always
being met.”
The nursery told The
Silhillian it was appealing against the report which it said contained factual
inaccuracies. When pressed by The Silhillian it would not say what these
“inaccuracies” were.
The report said “too little
attention” is paid to youngsters’ physical development with a lack of regular
opportunities to learn outdoors.
There is “little evidence of
planning and assessment of children's movement, balance, coordination and
control” it said.
“Several” babies had to use a
toy box or stacked chairs to stand up without staff help, it said.
And it said “awareness of
good hygiene is not fully endorsed because they either wipe their hands on a
flannel or use a communal bowl of warm water rather than washing their hands
properly”.
It said arrangements for
staff hand washing are “poor” and
increase the risks of cross-infection because hand washing facilities are in
another part of the nursery, which has 44 children on roll.
Yet it said children feel
“comfortable and secure” and “staff are
welcoming and comfort them when they feel unsure or sad”. Engagement with
parents is good, it said.
The report added: “Children
have positive relationships with each other and generally behave well,
responding to the staff's praise for their efforts.”
But it said “learning is not
consistently and effectively promoted” and the quality of some teaching is “poor,
provision for children's physical development is particularly weak and the
learning environment is uninspiring”.
The educational programme “lacks
sufficient depth and breadth” and “activities and resources often do not match
the needs of the children taking part” the report said.
The learning environment is
“unsurprising” which “reduces their interest and concentration, and often means
they do not have enough to occupy them”.
It said toys and books are
not stored or presented so children can see what is available or be encouraged
to use them while a lack of planning mean some older children “wander about and
they do not play purposefully”.
It said: “Staff's
interactions and deployment with these children are haphazard because they are
settling or checking on sleeping children, completing paperwork or having their
own lunch.”
Ofsted also found the that “monitoring
and evaluation of the educational programme is ineffective”.
Staff targets had been set
but these “have not resulted in sustained improvements in staff's practice and
procedures” it said.
It comes after Tommy Nursery School Warwick Road
It raised concerns that children do not have a key person assigned to them, that there is "limited" activities, that staff have a "poor awareness" of learning areas and there are "inconsistencies" in staff practice.
