To leave DS in an 'inadequate ' nursery

[unlurk85]

DS is 18 months and started nursery 2.5 days a week in June. Older DS has a lovely childminder until he went to school and she's now sadly retired. No other Childminders around here so I had to look at nurseries. DS is quite shy and sensitive so chose somewhere that was small (in a small house) and where the staff seemed caring. He's been happy there, the staff know him well and I feel like he's well cared for. It's a new-ish nursery (open 1 year) and they've just had their first OFSTED which has come back as inadequate. It's mainly on risk assessments, safety of the garden and how much the staff push the kids to learn. I personally liked their gentle approach, but obviously the safety stuff is worrying. They've assured us they've now sorted it, cleared out the garden etc but I'm still concerned. However they're very caring and my boy clearly loves it there. AIBU to keep him there even tho it's basically "failed"?

I would leave him there definately. The staff seem caring and he is happy there. Ofsted isn't everything and as you say they will fail a setting on relatively minor things regarding risk assessments and things like that.

If the reasons were more paperwork related then I would keep him there, unless you have a feeling that you’re not happy that they have addressed the inadequacies. Fundamentally if your child is happy and not being put in direct risk then go with your gut. They will be reinspected fairly rapidly I imagine, so if still bad then change your mind.

If he is happy, you are too and they adressed the safety issues, why not?

Would leave him there they haven’t failed on anything important .

If you feel it is a safe environment, he's happy to be there and you trust the staff then I would leave him there.

Having worked in nurseries I think I would take him out...'requires improvement' I could probably live with but inadequate is really bad imo!

They have failed on (I would consider) minor things and it sounds like they are proactive about sorting it out, so I would keep him there. They will probably have another ofsted quite soon so if they have addressed the issues it probably won't remain "inadequate"

DS nursery was rated inadequate, they put all the fixes in place ASAP and went on to be rated Outstanding. The safety issues are obviously concerning, but if they guarantee they're addressed straight away then I'd leave him there.

Be aware that they are unlikely to be able to offer the 15 or 30 hour funding when your ds is 3 unless they have a "good" rating. I think that some settings can offer it if they have a "requires improvement" rating and are working pro actively with the local authority to improve.

Inadequate is really bad, it won't just be paperwork.

Staff are crap at interacting with the children and no one noticed the garden was unsafe?

Thanks all, I do genuinely feel v mixed about it. The other options include an Outstanding nursery but it's huge (80+) kids and I think he'd be overwhelmed. This has just sent me into a spin after having been satisfied. @Camomila have you ever experienced an inadequate when it mainly applies to health and safety? Can it be rectified easily?

@Mindchilder totally agree. There's more to this than bad paperwork.

I’d worry that they weren’t up to the job of adequately risk assessing and providing a safe environment if they had big gaps in their provision before OFSTED. That’s because they might be able to fix the problems that OFSTED identified, but will they notice and act on other risks that come up or are they just incapable of doing that.

Obviously I can’t tell that from the information you’ve given.

@Mindchilder yes that's what I'm afraid of but I'm struggling to work out how I get to the bottom of how serious the problems are. I feel torn that I'm a neglectful parent if I leave him there, but if I put him somewhere that he'll struggle with I'm also in the wrong. As usual with parenting I feel I'm on a lose:lose!

Go and see the other nursery - they will be in age related rooms, it’s not going to be a big hall with 80 feral toddlers!

Have you seen the Ofsted report for your current nursery? Health and safety is really basic keeping children safe. I would want to be absolutely convinced of what they were doing to improve.

Yes @PandaPieForTea I'm worried that risk assessment is just good common sense and if they rectify the risks that ofsted noticed, will they spot future ones. I think you've hit the nail on the head there for me.

(Sorry - when asking if you have seen the report I mean actually seen it, not going on their spin which will be seeking to minimise the issues.)

Even if it could be rectified easily, I’d be concerned by the fact it required Ofsted to spot it. Either none of the staff spotted the risks or they were spotted but nobody did anything about them.

@Thundercracker I've been to see it, obviously it's not 80 kids in one room but the rooms are still big and crowded.

@Thundercracker yes seen original report

Staff interaction would be a big issue for me, it's so fundamental. Ofsted aren't looking for flashcards or formal phonics when they talk about learning and development - they just want adults who are talking to children, keeping them engaged with interesting and appropriate activities, asking questions, singing songs, reading stories. It doesn't mean not being gentle.

What were the safety issues in the garden? Do you think it's reasonable that no one noticed?

For me personally, risk assessments and safety would be a big alarm bell.

Risk assessments are not that difficult and should be in place. Equally, they should have known that the garden was unsafe.

Have you read the full report? That will give more detail on what Ofsted found. Prayed isn't everything and if it were between a good or outstanding setting then I would say it doesn't matter but an inadequate rating is really bad.

Ofsted not prayed stupid phone!

I'm in a very similar situation and I've decided to move my DS. There were just so many things that Ofsted commented negatively on that I've lost faith in them.
How have the management responded? If they're communicating well & have clearly learnt from the report and are doing their best to change then there's reason to stick with them & see what happens. Our nursery have denied everything, gone super defensive and accused the inspector of being biased. For me, that's just not good enough & I don't feel I can trust them with my child.

Yes I've read the full report and obviously it's not brilliant. The management have called a parents meeting so I might just hear them out (it's this week) but I think I know what they will say, I.e it's a one off, we're new etc. I think I'll ask the question about future risks...