A preschool in Bristol has been rated 'Inadequate' following its latest visit from Ofsted.
During an inspection of Raysfield Pre-school Playgroup at Dodington Parish Hall in Chipping Sodbury on March 8 this year, Ofsted rated it as 'Inadequate' in all categories, including 'overall effectiveness', 'quality of education', 'behaviour and attitudes', 'personal development' and 'leadership and management'. It's ranking at its previous inspection was 'Good'.
Among its findings, Ofsted noted in the report that "children's safety and welfare are compromised" as the manager does not follow safer recruitment procedures to ensure staff are suitable for their role, nor do they follow the correct safeguarding procedures to inform the local authority or Ofsted when allegations are made against staff, "putting children at significant risk of harm".
Read more: Ofsted rates Patchway Community School as 'requires improvement'
The report describes how the manager and staff don't always ensure the entrance to the premises (ie the front doors) are secured when children are present. This means that, at any time during the day, anyone could walk in and "access" children without challenge from staff, or children could simply walk out of the door unsupervised.
It then goes on to say that staff take home the workplace electronic tablets, which contain photos of children, and CCTV footage of the children is also taken home by managers and occasionally viewed from home. This means that anyone outside of the nursery could have access to images and footage of children, and parents have not been made aware of this practice when they sign to give consent for images to be taken and CCTV footage to be recorded.
The report also states: "Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), spend long periods of time with limited interaction with staff and play alone or wander aimlessly. Children do not receive the support they need to help them understand positive behaviour expectations.
"In addition, additional funding is not being used appropriately to support children. These weaknesses compromise children's enjoyment, learning and development."
Other shocking findings from Ofsted, found in the full report here, include:
"When outdoors, staff do not notice that children push and fall off plastic crates onto each other until children start to cry. When toddlers hit each other trying to get to the books indoors, staff do not help children to understand what is expected of them."
"Staff in the baby room struggle to meet all children's needs. For instance, they do not notice that children with additional needs lie upside down in the soft-play corner and drink from a bottle. Staff sit with their backs to babies in high chairs who are eating their lunch while they tend to other children. These failures put children at risk of choking."
"Staff do not promote children's good health well enough. For example, they do not change children's nappies on outings to the local soft-play centre. They do not ensure that all toddlers are given a drink with their meal at lunchtime."
The report does state that children enjoy being physically active indoors and outside, developing their muscles as they ride on tricycles, climb and balance in the outdoor area. It also reports that children show good coordination skills as they sit with staff to complete jigsaw puzzles, as well as having opportunities to be creative and develop their imagination by playing independently in the mud kitchen, or by using toy food to make adults their 'breakfast and lunch'.
It adds that parents say they "receive information about their children's time at the setting through an online application. However, some parents are not informed about changes to key persons.
"Some parents say the quality at the setting has recently declined. Therefore, they would not recommend it to others."
Bristol Live has approached Raysfield Pre-School Playgroup for comment.
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