Children were reportedly seen eating each other's poo at a "dangerous" nursery. A damning Ofsted report reveals that kids put pebbles and sharp pieces of ice into their mouths.
The inspection of Kidspiration nursery in Manchester took place last month and highlighted several issues at the business. Children attending the establishment at the time ranged in age up to three-years-old.
Manchester Evening News reports that in all five categories assessed, the nursery was rated 'inadequate'. Following the brutal assessment from the education watchdog, Kidspiration has shut.
In the report, the Ofsted inspector highlighted 'incredibly poor' care practices. He claims that he had to intervene when he witnessed the youngsters 'to maintain children's health and safety'
On one occasion, he was forced to stand at the top of a flight of stairs 'to stop children from falling over the banister'. The inspector also had to physically alert staff at the nursery when he saw children putting pebbles and sharp, broken pieces of ice into their mouths.
The hygiene of the establishment was also called out in the report. The inspector claims staff members were unaware of poo leaking on surfaces that kids had easy access to.
He said: "When some staff change children's nappies, they fail to notice that faeces have leaked onto surfaces that children have access to. This results in younger children putting faeces into their mouths."
The report continued with claims that babies were "left alone for prolonged periods with no interaction from staff". It read: "They sit quietly, look on into the distance and are not given the quality learning experiences that they should. Catastrophic failings from leaders mean that children are not provided with adequate care and learning. Staff do not supervise children well.
"Although children are content to leave their parents and happily greet staff, many of them wander around the rooms, bored and seeking stimulation. Risk assessments are poor. The inspector had to intervene to maintain children's safety on many occasions. This poor practice puts children at unnecessary risk."
Activities for children at the nursery were rated as 'mundane'. The report added: "Pre-school children show poor attitudes towards their learning. Staff teach children about winter animals with no clear intent as to why they are doing this.
"They do not address misconceptions in learning, and on the rare occasion when children do find something interesting, staff stop this and inform children that they are being 'silly'."
The report then took aim at the nursery's leaders claiming that they "fail in their duties to be legally compliant with the requirements of their registration" It added: "Low expectations and an incredibly poorly designed curriculum leave children without the quality education that they rightly deserve.
"Gaps in learning do not close and children do not make the progress that they are capable of. Activities are tedious and, too often, children wander around without clear direction or purpose. Staff deployment and child supervision are very poor, but especially at the beginning of the day.
"Due to poor staff deployment and poor arrangements for child supervision, staff do not notice when there are other children's faeces on the floor and within a low-level chair. Younger children touch the faeces and put it into their mouths. This places children at a significant risk and highlights the serious weaknesses in the leadership of the setting."
The report concluded that safeguarding arrangements were 'not effective' at Kidspiration. It added: "Staff do not supervise children well, which compromises children's safety. Staff are not aware of when older children climb and hang over a stair banister. Some staff leave children unattended in a room by themselves."
Manchester Evening News went to the nursery for comment but it was shut.
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