Hope Valley nursery slammed by Ofsted which rated the ‘unsafe’ setting as inadequate

A report from the education watchdog has listed Edale Stepping Stones Nursery and Childcare Centre on The Old Winery, Grindsbrook, as ‘inadequate’ in all areas including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes and leadership and management.

Inspector Rebecca Sigley said: “The provider does not ensure that staff who work with children have an adequate understanding of how to risk assess and safeguard them. Staff's safeguarding knowledge is not always secure.

“The training provided to staff is not substantial enough to improve their understanding. “Consequently, children's safety and learning are not sufficiently prioritised.”It was noted in the report the manager does not identify weaknesses in staff practice, and the curriculum is not implemented throughout the nursery.

Ms Sigley said: “Non-mobile babies are not supported to have the freedom to experiment with trying to move around the room and are carried around by staff for most of the session.

“Children do not engage in the activities planned by staff to build on what they can already do.

“Staff have limited interaction with children, and next steps for their learning are not clear. “Staff leave children unsupervised for periods of time where there are risks, for example in the garden and at snack times.”During the inspection it was noted babies are encouraged to take part in all activities. However, these are not age-appropriate.

“In a potion-making activity, scissors are left out within babies' reach, and paintbrushes are given that are not a suitable size for the babies.

“Staff do not understand how to provide age-appropriate activities for children aged up to four years of age in a single-room nursery.

“Babies are left to shuffle across the floor of the main part of the room while older children are running past them.

“In addition, the older children are able to play within the fenced-off baby area, making this unsafe for younger babies.”

Ofsted set eight targets which needed to be achieved by July 18. No one from the nursery returned The Advertiser’s call for comment about the report or whether the targets were met and the setting is now listed as permanently closed on Google.