in a dilemma about nursery

[beetlesbugsandbutterflies]

My 3year old's nursery has just had a very bad inspection report which highlights a number of managerial failings. It is v upsetting reading. Until now I have been reasonably happy with the nursery, which he has attended for almost 2 years. I have found another nursery nearby which has done well in an inspection report and seems to offer an overall better experience. But is it fair to move him with all the upheaval it will cause him and us?

If the failings are managerial does it really bother you? I think the staff and how they bond with the children are what make a nursery and you can't judge that from an ofsted report.

i'd trust your experience over a report, personally
unless children have been endangered
i'd speak with management and ask them what they are planning to do about it

What sort of failings ? Is it record keeping and planning, although you've seen a good mix of activities etc, or concerns about the care of the children ?

FWIW, when we moved to this area I looked at two nurseries - one had just got a Good, the other a Satisfactory. The one that had literally had an inspection the week before we came out of and phoned Ofsted as their care of the children was appalling. DS went to the other, which has cared for him fantastically.

thanks. some of the things were to do with infection control or leaving things out the babies could have grabbed. others were to do with lack of staff training. it seems to boil down to poor leadership. the thing is I have seen their action plan on how to improve it and it just seems to answer the points without aspiring to be as good as it could be. so do i wade in and become the busybody parent?? or just walk away!

I think either you leave them to get on with it, or walk away. Their action plan only has to address the points on the report - its not an aspirational kind of document.

I suppose that what you have to ask yourself is whether you'd have been happy to leave your DS there till he went to school without seeing the report

I own and manage my own day nursery.

In my experience Ofsted reports are not accurate findings and tbh I no longer read them when looking for childcare for my three children. You would be surprised about the dealings most nurseries have with the ofsted inspector.

In our last inspection report we were told that we were running a very good nursery and educationally there was not a lot we could do to improve, as far as the standards of care were concerned we were unable to get a good or outstanding outcome due to a paperwork issue (medication forms) that we had already changed three months prior to the inspection. We were told that the forms were exactly as they should be but as they had only being running for the last three months the inspector couldn't mark down that they were ongoing??

The inspector also failed to notice that we were cleaning the tables, highchairs and children's hands before eating - until this was pointed out to her at feedback after her inspection. She had been watching the older children through the window in the garden and hadn't noticed - Luckily for us one of the staff had been taking photos of another child who was settling in for his parents and caught the staff in the background cleaning the tables.

Maybe there is a simple explanation to the outcome. In my parent hat ( I do try to see things from both sides) I would try and catch the manager and have a polite chat with her about the report and how she felt the inspection went. She may be pleased that you have bought it up and can tell you her side of the story. I would be worried about changing DS to another nursery now (I imagine he will be off to school this time next year)and disrupting his routine unless you have serious worries about the care he is receiving.