Sheffield NHS-run nursery branded '˜inadequate' again

AN NHS-run nursery has been branded as inadequate '“ six months after Ofsted inspectors raised concerns over safeguarding issues.
The Sunshine Day Nursery, Beech Hill Road, Sheffield.The Sunshine Day Nursery, Beech Hill Road, Sheffield.
The Sunshine Day Nursery, Beech Hill Road, Sheffield.

Sunshine Day Nursery on Beech Hill Road, Broomhill, was given targets to hit after the last report found the nursery to be inadequate in leadership, teaching, welfare and outcomes for children.

The nursery, for children aged up to five, is next to the Hallamshire Hospital and is owned by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.

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The report said: “Safeguarding is ineffective. Induction procedures for new staff are not robust.

“The provider does not ensure that they understand safeguarding policies and child protection procedures. This means new staff do not know the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child or an adult.”

Inspectors found staff do not receive training to help them understand their roles and responsibilities and they are not monitored properly.

The nursery which opened in 2004 employs 54 members of staff and has 144 places with 179 children on the roll.

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Ofsted inspectors noted the high number of staff means they do not know the children they are working with well and the children lack key teachers.

The report said children who attended the nursery were not engaging through planned activities or challenged in their learning to make enough progress ready for school.

Ofsted also criticised lack of communication with parents as they are not well informed about what their child is learning or given the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress.

But support for children with special educational needs and those who use English as a second language was commended.

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A Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “Since the inspection that was carried out just a few months ago a number of improvements have already been made.

“However the inspectors recognised that due to the size of the unit further time was needed for the nursery to evidence that all the changes that they had highlighted had been made.

“The nursery has been keeping parents informed of progress to date and parents have been very supportive of the nursery team.”

An Ofsted spokesperson said:“We recently re-inspected this nursery and, although improvements had been made since the last inspection, the judgement was still inadequate overall.

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“We recognised that the provider was taking positive steps to improve but, because of the size of the setting, needed more time to meet all requirements.

“We will continue to monitor the progress and will re-inspect in the next six months.”