High Peak nursery fights back after '˜inadequate' Ofsted rating

Woodlings Nursery, which is based in the scout headquarters off Macclesfield Old Road, was awarded the lowest-possible rating by the education watchdog.

The managers of the nursery said they were “upset” by the findings and planned to meet the proposed changes “head on”.

Inspector Carly Polak commented in the latest report: “Children’s welfare is put at significant risk because there are weaknesses in management’s safeguarding and child protection knowledge.

“They have failed to ensure that all staff have an up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues, including the ‘Prevent’ duty guidance.”

The report noted children were not making the progress they should. Ms Polak said: “Gaps in children’s learning are not being identified and therefore are not closed quickly enough. Nonetheless, staff’s interactions with the children are positive.”

The inspection looked at four areas - effectiveness of the leadership and management; quality of teaching, learning and assessment; personal development, behaviour and welfare; and outcomes for children - rating each as inadequate.

Ms Polak said: “Actions raised at the previous inspection have not been met and weaknesses are not being addressed. The quality of teaching is still inconsistent and the quality of provision has significantly declined.”

The nursery has been set targets which it must achieve by March. These include: improve management’s knowledge of safeguarding procedures; ensure all staff have an adequate knowledge and understanding of child protection issues; use information gained from observations and assessments of children’s learning to plan accurately for their future development; and to monitor the quality of teaching and practice and use the information gained to provide effective support, coaching and mentoring to the staff to raise the quality of the provision to a good level.

Vicky Willetts and Amy Fraser, joint managers at the nursery, commented: “We are upset by the report, but we are meeting it head on.

“Ofsted have used the words ‘significant harm’ because they are bound by it. The areas within the report regarding Safeguarding were down to wording of a policy that was fine in last inspection.

“Our next inspection is within the next six months and with the support from other local settings and parents we are coming back wiser and stronger.

“We have been through a lot since September when we took on 28 children and six staff due to the sad closure of another nursery, the transition was extremely positive and identified new gaps and targets that we were currently working towards.”

Parent Lisa Blair gave her support to the nursery. “I have two children who attend this fantastic nursery, who have been there for almost two years. They are both extremely happy and settled and are developing wonderfully,” she commented.