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Rochdale nursery where children ‘run carrying hot soup’ rated Ofsted inadequate

Children at Small World Nurseries in Castleton were found at risk of potential harm after a number of ineffective risk assessments were carried out.

Emily Sergeant - 23rd March 2022

A nursery in Rochdale has been given an inadequate rating by Ofsted after several safety concerns were identified.

While the quality of education and the behaviour of the children may have been praised following a recent inspection, education watchdog Ofsted did however find that youngsters at Small World Nurseries – which is based at Tudor House on Manchester Road in Castleton – were found to be at risk of potential harm after a number of ineffective risk assessments were carried out.

Children were said to be “happy and engaged”, according to the Ofsted report, and it was also noted that they had formed “solid, affectionate bonds” with the staff that cared for them.

However, inspectors ended up rating the nursery as ‘inadequate’ overall, partly due to shortcomings in leadership and management, and mainly because policies and procedures around risk assessment and safeguarding were “not well implemented” and therefore exposed children to “potential hazards”.

The report said children were left vulnerable to avoidable injuries, as conditions at the nursery were not always suitable and safe, with “blocked fire exists, uneven surfaces, and children running with hot liquids” observed.

“Although the environment is risk-assessed daily, this is not effective,” the report added.

The watchdog also said: “Children are given hot soup to drink outdoors [but] they are not given appropriate direction on how to drink this safely which means they run around on wet, slippery ground carrying hot soup, posing a risk to themselves and others.”

The report referenced the fact children would “fall repeatedly” due to the slippery and uneven outdoor area at the nursery.

The nursery was also found to be failing to identify other practices that pose a risk to children, including providing phones for staff to use to take photos of the children without considering the risk posed by devices with “unfiltered internet access”, and Ofsted criticised the management team for being “not robust enough to recognise and rectify these concerns”.

As mentioned though, it’s not all doom and gloom for Small World Nurseries, as it was praised for its relationship with parents, who had described staff as “wonderful”, and were said to “feel reassured when their children leave the setting smiling and happy each day”.

Inspectors noted that “all children make good progress”.

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