Starting a nursery - shared building - what are the offsted rules

[ThatNavyViper]

Hello All,

I was wondering if there was anyone here who had experience with running a nursery and could help me with some answers.

Basically.. starting a nursery in a shared building/plot. It's not quite a shared building... our nursery in the front... fitness/gym is in a separate building at the back.

However, the access to the main entrance of the fitness building is down the side. This is where our fire exit leads onto and is also the entrance to the back courtyard (which we are planning to use to get the children to play outside).

My question is.. who or how do you implement the offsted regulations on these shared area's?

The fitness studio aren't willing to put a gate across the side path (this also leads to the car park), as they have been told it will restrict disability access to their studio and put off customers. They have been willing to install (and pay for) a pull across barrier - which we can use when we have the kids out there and taking them to the courtyard... but it can't be up the whole time.. only we take the children in the courtyard and then back into the nursery.

Also, the fitness studio has windows which overlook the courtyard which overlook the courtyard.

Does anyone know if there is any offsted regulations that require them to cover up their windows and install a proper gate which we can keep closed at all times?

Does anyone know where I can find out more information?

Many thanks

Surely Ofsted themselves would be best placed to provide this information?

It sounds like it’s going to be a bit of a nightmare to manage, in all honesty.

Ofsted won't have any regulations that will require other businesses to do anything... any responsibility or restrictions will be fully on you to comply with.

Your premises need to be secure so that children cannot leave unsupervised, and visitors cannot enter without permission. This is fully on you to organise and implement. Not the gym.

Thank you. Yes, trying the ofsted route tomorrow, but as they aren't open until then thought i'd see if I could pick the brain's of any with experience here.

If anyone can point me in the right direction for this information that would be great.

Thank you for your help - I can't seem to find this information anywhere on the ofsted website - so it's good to know. Thank you.

@ThatNavyViper Do you currently work in early years?

Does anyone know if there is any offsted regulations that require them to cover up their windows and install a proper gate which we can keep closed at all times?

Ofsted won’t have regulations requiring a gym to do anything. It’s you that will have to comply. This doesn’t sound a particularly ideal site for a nursery.

The nursery we use has their fire escape opening into the car park for the (shared) site so I wouldn't worry too much about that specific thing, you would just have to be able to identify where and how you would keep the children safe once you'd exited the building. Ours will go onto a fenced sports pitch area thing.

However as a parent I have never come across a nursery where the outside space wasn't attached at least on one side to the indoor rooms. That might be to do with our location (although it was the same in two very different parts of the country) and to be honest would put me off as a potential customer, never mind the logistics of it.

Does it HAVE to be that site? And is there enough business locally to mean that people will overlook things like that? Although if it's the norm for your area that the outdoor space isn't free flow or close to it then do ignore me 🙂 it would just be very unusual in the two places we've lived and used nurseries in.

This isn't to do with Ofsted.

This is to do with you being familiar with current KCSIE regulations and ensuring your nursery is following them to the letter and being able to provide full proof for that.

It doesn't sound like a suitable premises and also like you need to do more research.

Thanks for pointing in the right direction. Ill have a look at more at that rather than ofsted