Ofsted has warned of barriers between parents and staff of nurseries
(Picture: PA Wire)Many nurseries are still not letting parents inside because of Covid, which means they cannot be certain their child is in a safe environment, an Ofsted report warned on Wednesday.
Parents are still being asked to drop off and pick up children from the doorstep despite pandemic restrictions being lifted in February, according to the watchdog, because they do not want to risk staff illness.
It means staff are less likely to form close relationships with families which could cause safeguarding risks for children, the report said.
Almost all parents who spoke to Ofsted inspectors said they want to go back inside nursery buildings but did not realise they could ask to do so.
Ofsted analysed the results of more than 100 inspections carried out this summer to see how nurseries, schools and colleges are dealing with the ongoing challenges of Covid.
Describing the situation with early years providers, the report said: “Restrictions on parents entering buildings create barriers between parents and staff.
“Staff are less likely to form close enough relationships with parents to be able to assess changes in behaviour [and] parents cannot be certain that their child is in a safe environment.”
It added: “Also, parents cannot see or question poor practice. Potentially, there are safeguarding risks for children if parents continue to be unable to enter premises.”
Inspectors warned: “If parents do not develop an interest in and engage with early years provision, this may affect how parents engage with their children’s schooling in the future.”
Nurseries are also increasingly providing feedback to parents through apps rather than face-to-face.
The report said: “Some parents say they do not check the online platforms.”
Nursery staff told inspectors that keeping parents out of the building helps children settle better.
The report also found that children’s language development continues to be affected by the lockdown, with many waiting for up to a year for specialist speech therapy.
Many children still lack confidence and their motor skills are not as well developed because they missed out on going to playgrounds.
