Inspectors say the health and safety of children was “not assured” at a Lichfield nursery that was forced to close for six weeks.
Early Years Education Centre on Upper St John Street was originally shut temporarily in December in the wake of an unannounced visit by Ofsted inspectors.
But the company has since ceased to be a registered childcare provider.
Full details have now been published revealing what inspectors found when they visited the nursery in December, rating it as inadequate in all areas.
The Ofsted report said:
“Children’s health, welfare and safety are not assured.
“There are high levels of mould in the pre-school room and the nursery toilet area. Some rooms in the nursery are too cold for children.
“On occasions, the provider does not ensure there is a member of staff qualified in paediatric first aid on site at all times when children are present. Children are not provided with outdoor activities on a daily basis.
“Staff are unaware of children’s learning needs. Consequently, children disengage from activities provided by the staff and wander without purpose. They become bored and display unwanted behaviour – for example, children stand on chairs, they throw toys, knock over building bricks that children have taken time to construct and regularly spoil other children’s play.
“Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is poor and children who require extra help do not receive the targeted support they need.
“Children under two years of age do not have sufficient, good quality resources to excite and motivate them to play. They do not have quality interactions from staff, who concentrate on the older children in the room. As a result, children do not develop a positive attitude towards learning.”
Ofsted report
“A loud, chaotic and unsafe learning environment”
The report added that a high turnover of employees, with new staff “uncertain of the ages of the children they care for”.
It added that the nursery failed to provide staff with effective training.
“Staff do not have high expectations for children’s learning. For example, during a craft activity, staff do not enable children to explore resources independently to develop their own ideas and lead their own play. Consequently, the activity lacks ambition and children quickly disengage.
“Staff are not deployed effectively to meet children’s needs. For example, staff sit on a chair in the doorway to stop children leaving the room. This means they are unable to interact positively with children or extend children’s learning as they play.
“Resources are strewn across the floor by some of the children, leaving very little space for children to walk safely, and the play value of the resources is completely diminished.
“Staff overlook the quieter, less confident children, as they have to manage the behaviour of the more challenging children. This creates a loud, chaotic and unsafe learning environment.”
Ofsted report
The full report can be downloaded from the Ofsted website.
