Nursery at centre of safety row is praised by Ofsted

The Ashfield Nursery & ELC, situated in the grounds of South Tyneside District Hospital, was rated as inadequate in all areas by Ofsted inspectors during a visit five months ago, which was prioritised due to an accident in which a boy allegedly broke his leg.

At that time the inspectors said the staff were not putting the highest priority on child safety and well being.

However, following a recent follow-up inspection, which was published this week, the nursery has been rated as good in all areas, including leadership, quality of teaching, personal development, behaviour and welfare and outcomes for the pupils.

The report said: “Clear performance management processes are now in place to support the professional development of staff. Staff have access to a wide range of training and are encouraged to embark on higher qualifications, resulting in a strong and effective team.

“Leaders ensure staff understand, and are confident in, their roles to safeguard children. They now make additional checks to minimise risks to children, monitor and act on poor attendance and share key information with other professionals as required.”

The inspectors went on to say that staff promote children’s independence very well and have high expectations of what even the youngest can do for themselves and support them well to do so.

The environment is welcoming and well maintained and staff are particularly well trained to meet the needs of babies.

They said: “Staff take time to get to know parents. Parents value the opportunities they have to talk with staff daily and agree how to best support their child’s progress.

“Leaders monitor checks staff make on children’s progress more carefully to ensure they are accurate and identify gaps in children’s learning. Staff work with other professionals and adapt their teaching to support children at risk of falling behind to catch up.”

Inspectors said leaders have used the support of the local authority and views of others to help them tackle the weaknesses identified through the previous inspection.

They added: “Consequently, leaders have taken appropriate and swift action to improve the quality of the provision and outcomes for children to a good standard. Safeguarding is effective.”