Nursery put into special measures by Ofsted

The safety of children at a nursery in Hyde has been ‘compromised’, Ofsted bosses said following an inspection. 

Thorncliffe Barn bosses did not properly vetted new staff; had ineffective safeguarding procedures; and a had a lack of knowledge of signs of abuse, watchdog officials said. 

The nursery, which looks after dozens of children up to the age of four in the Mottram area, has now seen its rating drop from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’.

Ofsted rated the facility, in the Thorncliffe area of Hollingworth, ‘inadequate’ in all categories – education quality; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership. 

Following the inspection on June 4, a report read: “Children’s safety and welfare are compromised. The setting does not undertake rigorous recruitment and vetting procedures. 

“They have not completed safe recruitment procedures in an adequate time frame, including undertaking Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. 

“This means they cannot be assured that all staff are safe and suitable to work with children.

“The setting does not ensure that staff demonstrate a secure knowledge and understanding of safeguarding.

“Some staff lack knowledge of signs of possible abuse. This means that staff are not able to respond to concerns about children’s safety and welfare in a timely and appropriate way.”

Inspector Joanne Ryan criticised the nursery’s curriculum for lacking clarity and structure. She did say children are happy and that staff have positive relationships with kids. 

Children who require extra help receive the care and education that meets their individual needs, Ms Ryan added.

Explaining vetting failures, Michael Savage, who runs the nursery, said: “This was due to two staff members being employed but not having an update check on her DBS status carried out. This staff member was a past employee of ours and held a current DBS. 

“The other employee had been employed by the nursery for some months but we had only recently applied for her DBS certificate. Both were actioned by the due date.”

Speaking on staff being unaware of signs of abuse, Mr Savage added: “Two members of staff were unable to give up to date knowledge of FGM (female genital mutilation).

“The curriculum was criticised for the lack of coherent and clearly defined curriculum intent, however post inspection our team are working towards process over product and are following the children’s next steps and working with their interests to achieve early years goals and widen the child’s knowledge. 

“The nursery has confirmed to the Ofsted inspection team that they have dealt with their concerns and await their re-inspection.”