A nursery in Leeds has been rated inadequate for the second time in less than a year as Ofsted found continuing issues with safeguarding, quality of education and more.
The Ofsted inspection of Little Gems Nursery on York Road, Osmondthorpe, in December found that "leaders and managers do not have the capacity to improve the quality of the education and care they provide" after an inadequate inspection in August.
The management at Little Gems has now been 're-structured' and the nursery is under strict targets to improve.
Click here for more news and stories about schools in Leeds
The report, which was published yesterday, reads: "The provider has not ensured that required improvements have been made. Repeated weaknesses in the safeguarding knowledge and understanding of both staff, and those with lead responsibility for safeguarding, have not been addressed.
"Safeguarding continues to be ineffective which does not protect children's wellbeing. This demonstrates that leaders and managers do not have the capacity to improve the quality of the education and care they provide."
It adds: "Activities are not planned to meet children's individual learning needs. Staff do not understand the areas of learning they teach.
Enter your postcode to see local issues near you
"Assessments of what children know and can do are not accurate. The next steps for children's development, identified by staff, are not achievable. Therefore, children do not make good progress."
After its registration in 2019, the nursery was rated inadequate at an inspection in August 2021.
The August inspection identified significant concerns - including leaders not reporting allegations against staff to the "relevant authorities". The nursery's use of a 'time-out chair' for frustrated children was also criticised in August for its effect on emotional development.
Little Gems had a regulatory visit in September that found the nursery had improved the staff's safeguarding and child protection knowledge, but still had not met other targets.
The December 2021 inspection found the nursery inadequate on all counts - for education quality, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.
It says: "Staff do not wash their own, or children's, hands prior to eating or after wiping children's noses. Children wander around the nursery while eating. This does not promote children's good health."
Can't see this survey? Click here
The report also says that staff "do not know children well" and children often become disengaged from activities that "are not stimulating enough".
Staff with concerns about a child's development told inspectors they would wait six months before going to another professional for advice. Ofsted said this could foster "unacceptable delays" in providing support for disabled children or children with special educational needs.
The report does state that leaders have a clear vision for what the children need to learn, and pointed out that children behave well and are supported well by staff in monitoring conflict.
A spokesperson for Little Gems Nursery said: "We take the report extremely seriously. We have had a re-structure of the management team. We believe our new management team has over 30 years of combined experience in working in the early years.
"We have already actioned on the concerns raised by Ofsted and we are working closely with the local authority to turn everything around."
To get the latest email updates from LeedsLive, click here.
