“I was flabbergasted when I read the report” - Tring nursery makes complaint over Ofsted inspection

A nursery in Tring has complained to education regulator Ofsted after being told to improve following an inspection.

Little Crickets, on London Road, was rated as ‘requires improvement’ across the board after an inspector visited the nursery in October 2022.

A spokesperson from Little Crickets Day Nursery said: “We don't concur with the ratings given by the Ofsted Inspector as she did not provide robust evidence to substantiate her judgment, at the time of our inspection.”

They explained: “We are now going through the Ofsted complaints process. The safeguarding, welfare and development of our children and team remain our primary focus.”

Whilst parents highly commend the nursery for going ‘over and above’ for their families, the report said staff caring for the youngest children do not have all the necessary skills required to teach children and support their learning and development.

It continued: "Staff in the baby room do not use this knowledge to support babies with settling in. Therefore, the newest children take longer to settle and remain unsettled for longer periods of time than needed.”

Amy Wood’s son was the child mentioned to have taken too long to settle. She said: “I was flabbergasted when I read the report. He was on his third session when the inspector came around. And I've never had a problem with Albie settling in.”

She added: “It was obviously upsetting because you can tell the girls there love and care for the babies. I definitely didn't think it was should have had an improvement rating at all. And I have no issues with the nursery. I will still continue to recommend it."

The report highlighted the good work done by the staff, explaining how the children have good relationships with the staff whom they look to for comfort. The report said: “This demonstrates how safe and secure they feel in the nursery. Children behave well.

But it added: “The manager has a good understanding of what she would like the children to learn while they are at the setting. She has regular meetings with her staff team.

“However, she does not always check the staff's understanding of child development. Therefore, those who struggle to understand the next steps of the youngest children are not always supported sufficiently.”

Lauren Davies’s son has been going to the nursery for a year. She said: “As a mother, I don't mind if my child does something that's a little bit advanced he's got an older sister so he's gonna do loads of stuff that's way above what he needs to do. Does it matter? No, it doesn't matter in my mind. It does not change the care of that child. Looking after them is my main concern."

Ofsted outlined several improvements for the nursery to make which included improving teaching skills and planning learning experiences for younger pupils. It explained: “To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must ensure information gathered from parents is used effectively for children who are settling in to consistently meet their individual needs.”

Ofsted was unable to comment.