Parents defend once 'outstanding' Wednesfield nursery now rated 'inadequate' by Ofsted
Parents have leapt to the defence of a nursery rated 'inadequate' by Ofsted five years after it was rated 'outstanding'.
Young Ones Nursery in Wood End Road, Wednesfield, which has provided day care for children aged up to four since 1993, was given the inadequate rating after an inspection at the end of April, with the findings published this week.
In the report, Inspector Rebecca Johnson said: “Children’s safety is not assured because there are substantial weaknesses in staff’s safeguarding knowledge. This significantly impacts on their safety and welfare."
However, parents have defended the nursery, with many parents saying that the nursery has done an 'amazing' job with their children, and still continue to do so.
Chloé Anne said: "The nursery may have been rated inadequate by Ofsted but as a parent with a child who attends Young Ones, if I had any doubt that my child is unsafe or uncared for then I would move her instantly.
"I attended a parents' evening yesterday evening at the nursery. I’ve seen the work they do with my child - I’m more than confident that my daughter is happy and safe at Young Ones.
"The care and support in place for the children is amazing, they have helped my daughter adjust moving from babies to toddlers brilliantly.
"I’ve seen the safeguarding boards around the nursery and not once did I get the feeling my child is unsafe. The staff go above and beyond, a lot of children who attend started during Covid so until yesterday I hadn’t actually been able to go inside the nursery but the resources are great. They have so many toys to choose from, different areas that the children can freely choose to play in, and sensory room.
"Unfortunately, staff are questioned and spoken to by Ofsted whilst they still have to look after the children. So it’s very difficult to be questioning someone when they are looking after several children at one time. I also think Ofsted should review the time between inspections as the last inspection for this nursery was in 2017 which got outstanding.
"It’s now 2022 and the way they inspect educational environments are completely different to how they were five years ago which doesn’t help nurseries maintain that standard."
Several people on social media also said they were happy with their experiences from the nursery.
One person said: "This is really sad to read as my son had an amazing time at this nursery and was fully supported and developed."
Another commenter said: "I have every faith that my child is safe and looked after. Someone coming to inspect gets a snapshot of what the nursery does in one day... whereas the staff the parents and children see it daily."
Meanwhile another parent said: "My boys currently go here. My older boys went here between 2014 and 2018. Never did I feel they were unsafe or not enjoying their experience there. I think the staff are amazing and do everything they can for the children."
In order to improve, Ofsted said the nursery needs to train all staff to understand the safeguarding policy and procedures to enable them to identify signs of possible abuse and respond in a timely and appropriate way; ensure that staff-to-child ratios are maintained at all times; provide support, coaching and training for staff to enable them to plan a range of appropriate activities to enhance children’s learning and help them to make good progress; provide staff, including the manager, with appropriate training to develop their understanding of the curriculum and how children learn, and ensure that staff understand how to develop children’s communication and language more effectively.
The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm and currently has 78 children on its roll.
