Ofsted inspectors rated Peterborough nursery 'inadequate' days before it shut for good

A Peterborough nursery was rated as ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted inspectors just days before it closed its doors for the final time.

The Whiz Kids nursery, based at the Brightfields Business Hub in Orton, was visited by Ofsted inspectors on February 15, and closed a few days later, with Liz Debenham, director of Whiz Kids, saying the decision to close had been down to having not enough staff to legally operate the site. Ms Debenham said there were significant issues with employment in childcare across the country, and Whiz Kids had been hit by those issues.

Parents were left frustrated as they were given only a few hours to find a replacement nursery.

Now the Ofsted report looking at the former nursery has been released.

In the report, inspectors said: “ Children, including those who have specific individual needs, do not receive the quality of care and education they are entitled to. Children do not have access to learning that is tailored to their individual needs. As a result, children do not

engage in meaningful play and learning."

Inspectors added: “Children's safety is not assured, due to weaknesses in safeguarding practice. The senior leadership team, who are the designated safeguarding leads, do not understand how to respond appropriately should an allegation of harm be made against a member of staff, including sharing information with other agencies and Ofsted.”

The inspectors also criticised how staff dealt with children’s behaviour, saying: “The provider does not ensure that staff have adequate guidance about how they expect them to deal with challenging behaviours. As a result, children are not taught how to manage and understand their own emotions.”

After the closure parents of children at the nursery were advised to send youngsters to Whiz Kids sister site at Lynchwood. The Lynchwood site was given a Requires Improvement rating by Ofsted in January.

Speaking after the inspection report into the Orton site report was published, Ms Debenham said: “The morning of the inspection went really well and the inspector seemed very pleased with everything. After lunch, the afternoon was completely different, we really didn’t know what to expect. We feel that the lack of any positive comments in the report is not at all a true reflection of the nursery on the day of the inspection as many parents will testify.”

She said the report had not had an impact on the decision to close the site, saying: “It had already become apparent before the inspection that we were going to have to close the nursery due to being unable to recruit staff in the current recruitment crisis to replace those leaving. Plans were underway to give everybody notice but unfortunately a few days after the inspection we were left with no option but to close immediately when we unexpectedly lost a key member of staff which meant we were unable to operate within the Ofsted legal requirements. The nursery has remained closed.”

She added: “We are constantly striving to be the very best we can at everything we do. Any shortcomings that are found are always addressed and solutions integrated across all our sites so that collectively we are continuously improving.”