Teddies Nursery Sheffield: Pre-school shakes off inadequate Ofsted rating following 'hard work' by staff

Teddies Nursery, in Kenwood Park Road, was in Ofsted’s ‘Good’ books for nearly 15 years since it opened in 2007 – until a report in late 2022 stripped it of this rating and handed it the lowest grade possible.

In a scathing report, the Nether Edge daycare was told the education it offered was poor, its safeguarding measures were slack and that children’s safety was “compromised”.

Now, in a new report published May 5, Teddies has been praised for thoroughly tackling inspectors’ concerns over safety and has been lifted out of its ‘inadequate’ rating – but there is still work to be done.

The report reads: “Managers and staff have worked hard to address several of the actions at the last inspection. However, the quality of education still requires improvement.

"Children play in a safe and welcoming environment. Staff know the children well as individuals and meet their care needs effectively… Staff build good bonds with the children and ensure that children understand expectations for behaviour.”

In fact, the report in 2022 was just as complimentary about children’s behaviour and happiness at the pre-school, but harshly criticized safeguarding training and education standards.

However, the new report maintains there is still work to do, and has now rated Teddies ‘requires improvement’ in all areas. Inspectors wrote: “…the quality of education still requires improvement. The activities that staff provide are not targeted well enough to help children make the progress that they are capable of.

"The leadership team has a clear vision for the future of the nursery. Staff comment positively on the support they receive from the leaders. Leaders complete supervisions regularly. However, supervisions are not focused enough on raising staff's overall performance and the quality of teaching that children receive.”

The nursery has been ordered to improve its teaching and how it builds on children’s learning, especially for little ones who speak English as an additional language.

Teddies Nursery, which is operated by Bright Horizons, It will likely be reinspected within a year.