To wonder how quickly nurseries can improve?

[nurserygames]

My DD nursery has been given an inadequate rating from Ofsted. The nursery are now taking steps to turn things around obviously. Has anyone else been in this situation and if so, how long did it take the nursery to turn it around? Did it stay at a better standard after a revised ofsted rating or did things slip again? Posting here for traffic.

Why was it rated inadequate and what are you looking for in a nursery? If the children are stimulated, well looked after and in a safe happy environment, but the nursery is inadequate because they don't keep their paperwork up to date does that bother you? What was their previous rating and did they implement the changes suggested then? How quickly? Does the report indicate any areas of inadequacy where systems have already been put in place to overcome them but they've only been in place a short time so not long enough to take into account for ratings? Have there been any obvious issues over the past year that seen to have already been dealt with eg change of management? Is your child happy there and are you happy with the way they are cared for and the focus of the nursery?
I don't work for Ofsted but a similar role in a different industry, those are the kinds of questions I'd be asking myself, and make sure you read the full report not just the ratings summary.

Depends really what the issues are. I had this with our nursery, but wasn’t too concerned as I was happy with the care and the issues raised were to do with paperwork and some things like tree roots being trip hazards in the garden etc... nothing I could get too worked up about. I got my primary years specialist DM review the report and she wasn’t remotely worried about what they were saying about the quality of care or education. They turned it round really quickly (6 months between inspections) as the changes were easy to implement - i.e. they put up a fence one weekend. But if ofsted are raising concerns about the quality of staff or the leadership that would be more worrying and probably take a lot more work to resolve iyswim

I've not been in this situation but I work in schools. Inadequate is bad OP. Have you read the report? Personally I would be pulling my children out but have a look at the report and see if these things are likely to be addressed quickly. For example they could be criticised for practical things like not having stair gates in the right place or not manning reception or wearing name badges. If the staff are criticised for their attitude or how they interact with the children or there is a serious safety issue this is going to take far longer to be addressed

Depends on why it got inadaquate, the ofsted report will say why it got inaquadate and it it’s something that is a paperwork failure it is easy to fix, if it’s safeguarding it’s a worry and if they have changed ratings a lot it’s a worry as they aren’t consistent.

AMA I have read more ofsted reports than I can count

I've been in this situation. DS's former nursery was in this situation after years of Outstanding Ofsteds. The issues were safeguarding ones (which can be fixed quickly) rather than teaching concerns. The local authority threw a ton of money in our direction, we got a temporary head (a former Ofsted inspector no less) and around a year later achieved a Good rating. Speak to the nursery about your concerns and decide what you think is best. A friend who works in education once told me that the best time to be in a nursery/school is when is going through this because of all the extra resources you get.

Also be wary that during this period of inadaquate they will loose the ability to deliver 2 year old and 3 year old 15/30 hour funding so will try there hardest to fix it if it’s simple issues if not they will close or be brought out.

Thanks. Here is a link to the report. reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/CARE/147572

When did you get the report or get told the outcome of the inspection? I ask because the measures Ofsted want in place were due to be done by 1/8/18 which has obviously passed now.

I think it would be reasonable to ask if they have been addressed and sorted. I would be happy for a parent to ask me and would happily shown them improvements made.

The hygiene comment would bother me and I would remove my child if it looked like that wasn't being improved, also with the safety measures too.

I saw the report a few weeks ago. I missed the bit where it said it had to be completed by 1 August - I thought there would be another inspection within six months time. There has been a lot of change in staff over the last six months too and most of them have left. I haven't heard about the funding issue - I thought I would still be able to get funding.

Is it a Busy Bees chain nursery? My DD used to go to one of those and a neighbouring nursery got an inadequate rating, so immediately manager at ours got moved in to sort it out with massive support from head office- if it's a chain they'll sort everything super quick and have prob already started

Between ds1 going to school and Ds2 starting nursery the setting Ds1 had been at had an inadequate rating issued due to a training issue around a safeguarding incident. They had a reassessment and rated good again within a few months (more than 3 I think but def less than 6).

They'd recently had a high turnover but all is stable again and Ds2 thriving there. I admit if we hadn't previously had a relationship with them then the rating may have put me off but I know ofsted isn't the be all and end all of a nursery

DD seems happyish there, but not ecstatic - she would rather not go if given a choice, but I wanted her to be able to mix with kids her age without me there. Given the staff changes, it's hard to know. They are getting support from regional and head office now - I just wonder whether I should upheave her and put her in a nursery that already has systems and monitoring and development plans in place already, rather than one that needs to be taught these from scratch. There is limited choice in the area and I'm worried I'll miss the funding for next term if I move her now.

It looks like this inspection was the result of a parent complaint. Possibly a food/allergy related complaint if I’m reading it correctly.
It doesn’t look like a full inspection covering every area of the EYFS which makes me wonder what else they aren’t doing particularly well.
The hygiene isn’t great.
And the risk assessments aren’t great.
I’ve worked in a busy bees before, and as it is part of a large chain they will get head office in to sort it out pretty quickly I imagine.
Wouldn’t surprise me if they got a new manager in.

All very quick to sort out. It is a big chain.

They might lose funding but that is st the discretion of the La and unlikely

It's a busy bee nursery chain, with a relatively new manager - 6 months or so. Head office are throwing resource at it now, but it feels a bit like why let it get to crisis point before genuine assistance is offered? DD is to start at the pre-school there so we don't really have a year to wait! Parents of children who have recently left have said that they don't feel their children have moved forward in the way they would have expected (trying not to be too outing). It does feel a bit like headless chickens at the moment.

For those with nurseries which got turned around after an inadequate rating, did standards start to slip again after the follow up successful inspection?

I’ve worked in a nursery that revived inadequate, then was rated Good again at reinspection 6 months later. I can promise you that standards in nurseries that have been through an inadequate are likely to be higher than most, as they will be desperate to ensure it never happens again!
This is especially true of nurseries that are part of a chain - the head office won’t let it slip again.

I hope so!