Nursery rated inadequate - help

[CathyandHealthcliff]

I’m in such a predicament tonight, I feel sick.
I already suffer with anxiety and I’m dreading going back to work next week. I’ve been having panic attacks about it.
He’ll be going two days a week.

The nursery we’ve chosen has a homely feel and the staff are lovely with the children. They get taken out on walks in the local area often and have a lot of outside time.
The children always seem happy and well looked after there.

Anyway, the ofsted report has just gone online and they have been rated inadequate in all areas.
I’m absolutely gutted.
I’m starting back at work next week and it’s too late to find anywhere else now. Plus he’s done several settling in sessions.
We don’t have any other alternatives for childcare. I don’t know what to do. Please be gentle with me, I feel really delicate and devastated tonight.

I’ll also add it’s a small nursery. Which was one of the reasons I chose it.

There are ‘inadequate’ nurseries and schools in my area where children have thrived.

Not ideal I know, I understand your concern but the bad ofsted report will only mean things will be on the up from now!

Does the report say why they were rated inadequate, is it safety concerns or more the paperwork side of things?

Poor you.
Could you delay your return to work?
There must be other alternatives, but you’ll need to be quick..look at childminders too.
Do you know any other parents with children there that may like to do a nanny share.

What does the report actually say is wrong? You need to read the details and decide if it's still the right setting as it sounds like it has a lot going for it. I know a setting rated inadequate just because some paperwork wasn't in order. I don't set a lot of store by Ofsted ratings- the devil is in the detail.

Inadequate in all areas does not sound good

Have you seen a copy of the full report? My DD's nursery was inadequate in some areas but it was all to do with paperwork and honestly, the warmth and kindness of the staff, the amount of outside time they give her, the amount of craft and messy play she does, the songs and rhymes and dances she comes home having learnt are all more important to me. It's a very old fashioned nursery where she gets lots of cuddles, brings home loads of pictures and is loved and cared for. She runs in every morning with a massive grin on her face. Honestly, gut feeling matters more than an Ofsted report, imo.

Our nursery was rated inadequate. 90% due to poor / no management. Kids loved it, communication was generally crap, staff all really friendly, kids very happy with staff, parents happy with staff, they just missed the point on a few key, specific areas which led to a negative rating.

Assuming you have no H & S / safeguarding concerns and your child is content, I'd ignore the report. It's only 2 days, it's not like this is the only environment your child will experience.

I have to say, I was more impressed with my inadequate nursery than I am with my sons (on paper) very good primary school. Other than the fact my son is happy at school, I can't actually think of any good things to say about it. Ofsted reports are very subjective and unless they call out critical safety issues, nearly everything else can be ignored I think.

I read about a childminder who was marked down for having water for her mindees in separate bottles, each having their own. The inspector felt they should be pouring it out of a jug into cups themselves - these were preschoolers....

DS's school was rated inadequate because of paperwork - paperwork which they got guidance from a professional body and the local authority on how to do, and were given the incorrect information from both.

So I agree, you need to read the report.

I would read it in detail and not assume the worst. My DS’s nursery got rated inadequate last year. The manager and staff were noticeably devastated by it, spoke to all of the parents to explain what had happened, and made vows to turn it around. They did - in 5 months at a re-inspection, they got rated “good”

Have you read the detail? What specifically did Ofsted say?

Places rated “inadequate” get ofsted’d again fairly quickly afterwards to make sure they’ve implemented all the things they’ve been told to. And I’m sure the nursery will be very motivated to change.

Speak to the nursery and ask them exactly what they’re planning to change.

Have you read the report? Do you know why it was rated inadequate?
I also know of a setting rated inadequate (down from good) because the safeguarding training for the management committee wasn't up-to-date (although this had had no effect on actual safeguarding procedures which were all being followed). As soon as this was sorted they got their good rating back. But there was nothing wrong with the care they provided for the children at any point.

Op you need to read the actual Ofsted report. It will explain why it has marked the nursery as inadequate.

Sometimes these are things which can then be changed and the nursery will rapidly improve.

The nursery will be very worried about losing parents so first step ask for a meeting and ask what exactly they are doing to respond to every point made in the report. You need to see action not hear words.

I do think inadequate for example in relation to certain issues might be fixable.

I'd make sure that you read the report in depth.

I had a similar situation with my son's nursery, which went from Outstanding to Inadequate. He'd been there for nearly two years, very happy and well cared for.

They'd basically failed on a couple of things - the inspector had asked one of the staff (the apprentice!) about the Prevent duty, and she was so nervous she couldn't get her words out. She had actually done the training, she just clammed up. They'd also had the taps in the toddler toilets break a few days beforehand and were waiting for repairs (they were fancy motion sensing ones), so were washing their hands in the basin. They were all using the same flannel, and this was flagged as a hygeine issue.

The staff were devastated, and the nursery, understanding that parents may be worried, held meetings to discuss what went wrong and what they were going to do about it.

They were re-inspected a couple of months later and were rated good.

I really don’t know what to do, my head is swimming. I honestly feel sick.
I’ve already emailed another nursery tonight, but obviously he’d still need to do settling in sessions there and get to know the staff and we don’t have nearly enough time.

I can’t delay my return to work at this late stage as I work in a school. I suppose I could email my head and ask her.

It’s safeguarding, leadership and management, paperwork, teaching and learning, outcomes for children...

There are some positive points:

• Staff have a sufficient awareness of child protection issues. They understand the procedures for reporting any concerns about children and staff to ensure concerns are dealt with appropriately.

• Children feel safe in their care. Staff offer cuddles when children are upset, and they are sensitive to children's care needs and interests. Children are assigned a key person, which contributes to them being happy and settled. However, when key persons are absent, not enough information is shared about children's learning needs so that staff can fully support their learning. Children behave well. Staff positively reinforce what children have done well so they feel good about their achievements. Children go on a variety of outings, which means they learn about the community in which they live.

Read the report. Unless the rating is because of safety issues or similar, it doesn't matter. If you like it and feel the setting is right for your dd that's the key thing. At thus age quality of "education" is irrelevant. You need to know your child is safe, loved and stimulated.

I laughed when ds' nursery told me he needed to work on his writing!! He hadn't even turned 4. I just didnt care (although they were right). On the other hand, dd's nursery sent a report at the end of year (before starting school) that said she was behind on a whole lot of things, including speech. Which made us all fall apart laughing as everywhere we go people comment on how well she speaks and having had a child with speech delay we are pretty comfortable with her speech. But they were wonderful with her overall so even though they consistently demonstrated that they didn't have a clue about formal education, we didn't care.

Just read your update. I think it sounds lovely. Who cares about paperwork For a baby?

Yes I’ve read the report in detail.

Looks as though the safeguarding risks are something to do with the door not opening properly at times which puts the children and staff at risk if there was an emergency and the other was about hot food being served.

What are the safeguarding concerns in the report?

Paperwork and teaching (at that age) wouldn't bother me. All I'd want is for my child to be safe and happy.

Looks as though the safeguarding risks are something to do with the door not opening properly at times which puts the children and staff at risk if there was an emergency and the other was about hot food being served

Assuming they are getting the fire door sorted, this also wouldn't bother me.

Without reading the report it's hard to say but safeguarding is the only one of those that would really concern me.

Will echo pps that you need to look at the detail. Ofsted get bees in their bonnet about stuff that as a parent you may think is not a concern.

My DD has just left a ‘requires improvement’ nursery that was marked down purely because of paperwork issues (that they had taken advice on from a supposed expert). The care she received was outstanding, the staff are all really lovely, it’s safe and loving and she leaves very well prepared for school, knowing the alphabet, how to write her name, counting up to 100, already a good grasp of the beginnings of phonics etc. She went from being a shy child to one who is happy, sociable and confident. A large part of that is down to her experience at nursery.

We have several ‘outstanding’ nurseries near uis and I wouldn’t have wanted her to go to any of them. They may have the correct policies and paperwork, but they are large chains that lack the homely feel, and the staff seem far less engaged with the children.

Go with your gut. By all means see how things go, but don’t be put off just by the rating. The devil will be in the detail.

Oh, crossposted - not sure those would be enough to really worry me.

Read the report but I honestly wouldn’t worry. The most important thing is your feelings about the nursery. I’m from a family of teachers. A lot of ofsted is complete bollocks. Dd is off to ‘requires improvement’ school next week but I’m 100% happy that it’s the best school for her, as are several parents who are primary teachers themselves. Ofsted isn’t the be all.

This happened in my town. Nursery got shut down with immediate effect. Get on all your local Facebook groups. Lots of offers were made, childminders came out of retirement, other nurseries squeezed kids in.

Must me so so stressful