‘Inadequate’ rating not fair, says nursery boss

A LONDON nursery has been blasted by Ofsted after kids hit and snatched toys off each other. The education watchdog found children don’t feel safe at Ladybird Day Nursery in Shepherds Bush.

The nursery has been branded ‘inadequate’ – the worst possible rating – in every category after an inspector visited in April.

But manager Lee Weatherall said the rating was unfair and the welfare of the children is the nursery’s top priority. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I think we have a very good nursery and the parents really like us.”

A report by an inspector who visited the nursery on April 11 said staff failed to manage children’s behaviour properly. It said: “There are too many occasions when children do not behave well. For example, children snatch toys or hurt their peers too often. This means that, at times, children do not feel safe and secure.”

The report also said children were not taught consent and encouraged to hug others without asking for permission. It adds: “Staff do not always teach children that they have control over their body. For example, if a child hurts another child, they are encouraged to cuddle them without asking if they would like a cuddle first. This does not teach children the importance of obtaining consent before touching others.”

Lee said on the day of the inspection, a “very angry” child came into the nursery and hit another. On the same day, she said the nursery was using lots of agency staff, including a worker who told the child to hug the other after they lashed out.

Lee said she accepts that shouldn’t have happened and claimed it was an isolated incident.

She added: “We do try and promote that they have to ask for permission first. Since Covid it’s been very difficult to retain full-time staff.”

The nursery was also marked down after staff failed to speak to children in their home languages. The report said: “This impacts on some children’s progress in their language development.”

Lee said it would be “an impossible task” for all the nursery staff to be able to speak lots of foreign languages but insisted they try their best to learn key words for each child like ‘toilet’ and ‘drink’. She added: “We felt we had enough in place but they wanted more.”

Although Ladybird Nursery was rated ‘inadequate’ in every category, including management and the quality of education it provides, the inspector was positive about the relationship between staff and parents.

The report said: “Staff care about the children and work hard to build good relationships with them... Partnership with parents is strong. Parents speak highly about the warmth of the staff. They value the daily verbal feedback about their child’s day. They find the photos and information of what their children are doing during the day useful.”

Lee said the nursery has since made all the changes recommended by Ofsted.

She added: “Everything that was in there has all been addressed.”

She said the nursery has been operating for 30 years and staff were immediately given up-todate safeguarding training after the review. Lee also said she has implemented a new set of checks for children during sleep time.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands the nursery is appealing the rating and Ofsted has since deleted the report without explanation.

GOOGLE Ladybird Day Nursery in Shepherds Bush