A nursery where fire exits are blocked and children ‘run around carrying hot soup’ has been rated as inadequate by Ofsted. The education watchdog found youngsters at Small World Nurseries, in Rochdale, were at risk of potential harm because of ineffective risk assessments.
Based at Tudor House, Castleton, the centre looks after nearly 70 children aged between one and four years old. Officials praised the quality of education and behaviour of youngsters following a recent inspection.
Children were said to be ‘happy and engaged’ and it was noted they had formed ‘solid, affectionate bonds’ with their staff. But inspectors rated the Manchester Road nursery as ‘inadequate’ overall, in part due to shortcomings in leadership and management.
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A new report says policies and procedures around risk assessment and safeguarding were 'not well implemented', exposing children to 'potential hazards'. It adds: “Although the environment is risk assessed daily, this is not effective. Hazards such as blocked fire exits, uneven surfaces and children running with hot liquids are not identified. This leaves children vulnerable to potential, avoidable injuries as the premises are not always suitable and safe.”
The report describes how the outdoor area at the nursery becomes slippery and, due to the uneven ground, children ‘fall repeatedly’. It continues: “Additionally, children are given hot soup to drink outdoors. They are not given appropriate direction on how to drink this safely. This means that children run around on wet, slippery ground carrying hot soup, posing a risk to themselves and others.”
The nursery also failed to identify other practices which pose a risk to children. One example was providing phones for staff to use in the rooms to take photos of children, without considering the safety risk posed by devices with ‘unfiltered internet access’.
“This leaves children at risk of potential harm,” the report notes. “The management team's regular evaluations of the setting are not robust enough to recognise and rectify these concerns.”
However, there was also much praise for the nursery despite the watchdog awarding the lowest rating. Children are described as ‘confident and curious learners’, whose communication and language skills are ‘well supported’. These emerging skills are said to help ‘prepare children for the next stages in their learning journeys, including those getting ready for primary school’.
The deputy manager, who is the special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) coordinator, was also praised as ‘extremely passionate about her role’. “She sets well-thought-out and appropriate goals for children's development,” the report states.
“She ensures that all children experience a unique approach to their learning, which supports their individual needs and preferences. This means that children with developmental delays quickly begin to catch up with their peers.” Additional funding was said to be ‘used effectively and thoughtfully’, with inspectors noting that ‘all children make good progress’.
The nursery was also praised for its relationship with parents, who describe the staff as 'wonderful'. They are said to ‘feel reassured when their children leave the setting 'smiling and happy' each day.
Kimberley Anstess, manager of Small World Nurseries, said in a statement that her team was 'devastated' by the Ofsted rating and had submitted an appeal.
"Sadly, with only a few hours visiting our nursery, Ofsted felt they have made the correct decision," she said.
“We have written to all our families and given them a copy of our appeal to reassure them that this report does not reflect our passion, dedication, commitment and hard work, time and patience we have for our role, the children and families and of course, each other.”
Ms Anstess added that staff informed the inspector the soup was 'definitely not hot,' noting that they had 'no chance to prove it or offer some.'
“We cater for children and families with so many beautiful, unique and quirky personalities and needs," she said.
"We do have an awesome little one who is not able to sit and enjoy the soup with others, of course we will give him some. We do, however, follow him and make sure he is able to enjoy it safely."
Ms Anstess also disputes the reports findings regarding fire exits, stating that 'not one' of the 10 at the nursery was blocked.
She added: “We did have items on the escape route to the assembly point, but we are a nursery with resources, climbing frames and digging areas – all could have been moved, walked around or avoided in the event of a fire.
“The exits were not, and never have been, blocked.”
In respect of the mobile phones, she said there were no apps or SIM cards on the devices - in line with the nursery's safeguarding policy - so no calls, texts or video chats could be made.
“The device was used to take photos for the children’s learning journey and shared with parents. It was connected to cloud storage with passwords, so, if stolen, it can only be used after a factory reset, losing all the data including photos," she said.
“There is also a password for the cloud. Photos are printed and then deleted. If, in a dreadful scenario, an inappropriate photo was taken and then deleted, it would still be on the cloud and seen by the safeguarding officer. That person would then be reported.
“We understand the words ‘mobile phone’ can be scary, but it was used as a photo-taking device with appropriate use.”
Ms Anstess added: “We are all still here, working incredibly hard; no-one has lost their employment and we have not had any families leave us.
“We are a fantastic place to be with people who genuinely care and want the very best for each other and, more importantly, the children.”
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