Wigan nursery's teaching and leadership slammed by inspectors

A Wigan nursery with 'weak leadership and poor teaching' has been criticised in a report by education inspectors.
The nursery in GidlowThe nursery in Gidlow
The nursery in Gidlow

Kids.Com Nursery Ltd, on Throstlenest Avenue, Gidlow, was given the lowest possible rating of inadequate after a recent inspection by Ofsted.

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It had been judged to be good in 2014, but inspector Denise Farrington was not happy with what she found when she visited last month.

In her report she wrote: “Children’s learning and progress is hindered due to weak leadership and poor teaching.

“The failure of leaders and managers to robustly monitor the quality of the nursery means that children are not making the progress they are capable of.

“These inadequacies are significantly affecting children’s potential learning and outcomes.”

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The inspector described arrangements for safeguarding as not effective and said the children’s safety cannot always be assured due to weaknesses in behaviour management.

The monitoring and supervision of staff was found to be ineffective, failures to meet legal requirements were not addressed and staff were not deployed effectively to meet the needs of children.

The quality and teaching and learning was said to be weak, with children wandering around without purpose and the pre-school room often chaotic.

Some parents were not sure who their child’s key person was and staff in the pre-school did not gather enough information about the children in their care, including their first language.

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Staff also did not fully support children in understanding all aspects of diversity, the inspector said.

The report said: “Staff do not manage children’s behaviour effectively. Some children display unwanted behaviour. For example, they throw toys and turn over a small table during play. This behaviour is disruptive, compromises children’s safety and hinders future learning.”

However, the inspector did find that staff were very friendly, warm and welcoming and kept parents informed about children’s activities and care routines.

They ensured children followed good hygiene procedures, there was a calm learning environment for younger children and the children did develop some basic skills to help them prepare for their future learning.

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Ms Harrington made a list of things the nursery should do to improve, including ensuring the quality of teaching and learning was consistently good, deploying staff effectively and ensuring staff have the knowledge and skills to manage children’s behaviour and ensure they are safe.

The nursery’s owner Janet Gorton said: “We are disappointed with the outcome of our recent inspection and can reassure parents that with the support of Ofsted and the local authority, we will ensure that all identified actions will be addressed immediately.”