Teddies Nursery: Safety is 'compromised' at Sheffield nursery rated 'Inadequate' in all areas by Ofsted

Teddies Nursery, in Kenwood Park Road, was in Ofsted’s ‘Good’ books since it opened in 2007, and was called “ambitious” in its last visit in 2018.

But now, the Nether Edge daycare has been handed the lowest rating possible by inspectors, who have rated it “Inadequate” in all areas and dropped it into special measures.

In a scathing report based on a visit in October, inspectors say they found staff’s understanding in safeguarding and good lesson planning lacking, and handed the nursery a list of measures to improve on. Despite this, they noted children seemed happy, that behaviour was good and little ones made the most of physical, active playtime. There was also an emphasis on healthy eating and snacks.

The report reads: “Children's safety is compromised, as staff do not have sufficient knowledge and understanding about safeguarding. In addition, staff do not have high enough expectations of children.

"Staff are unable to provide coherently planned and ambitious activities that stimulate children's learning. This means that some children are wandering around aimlessly for long periods of time.”

Criticisms were also levels at children’s learning. Inspectors said staff did not support communication skills or take opportunities to teach children new words – at the same time, babies were “read stories far beyond their understanding”. They also claim staff had “poor knowledge of the children in the rooms they are covering”.

The reports reads: “The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. Staff have a poor understanding of child protection. Not all staff know the possible signs that a child is at risk of harm and what to do if they have concerns.

"Staff do not know how to follow the correct procedures if an allegation is made against a colleague. They lack a secure understanding to recognise children who are at risk of wider safeguarding issues, such as radicalisation and extreme views.”

Despite these failings, the premises themselves were safe and accidents were recorded properly.

Teddies Nursery and its operator, Bright Horizons, were contacted for a comment.