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'Unkind' children 'snatch toys' at inadequate nursery school

Children are unkind and snatch each others’ toys at an inadequate nursery school which teaches kids if they ‘break rules they can get away with it’, a watchdog says.

Ofsted has released the results from a damning inspection into Werneth Nursery and Preschool in Oldham.

Inspector Luke Heaney rated the Cambridge Street facility ‘inadequate’ in every area – including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

Staff do not always ‘teach children what is right from wrong’, and the safety of youngsters who attend the pre-school ‘cannot not be assured’, the inspection found.

The nursery’s registered person, Tabasum Tanzeela, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they are addressing the issues raised in the inspection and hope to be ‘good or outstanding’ by the next visit.

Inspector Heaney said that youngsters currently attending the pre-school do not make good progress, adding activities are ‘mundane and lack intent’. 

“Children demonstrate poor behaviour and attitudes towards their learning,” he states.

“They snatch toys and are unkind towards one another. 

“Staff lack the skill and expertise to deal with children’s behaviour. 

“Consequently, some children learn that if they break rules they can get away with it, which directly contradicts the rule of law.”

Low expectations, poor teaching and a weak curriculum mean children do not gain the necessary skills in readiness for school, Ofsted says.

And the inspector says they are not provided with the ‘quality education that they rightly deserve’.

Children at the school are also not given the ’emotional security to feel happy and secure’, the report adds.

“Some children arrive upset and do not settle for the duration of the session. 

“They cry frequently and do not always know who to go to for support.

“Staff are inconsistent in the behaviour management procedures and do not always teach children what is right from wrong. 

“This results in many children being unkind and displaying challenging behaviours during their play.”

Inspector Heaney said there had also been a number of breaches in the safeguarding and welfare requirements.

“Although the manager is aware of how to keep children safe and protected from harm, her staff do not know the correct procedures to follow should they be concerned a child is open to extreme views,” he states.

He added they are unaware of the ‘Prevent’ duty guidance and have not had any safeguarding training since starting to work at the nursery.

Prevent is the government’s anti-radicalisation strategy, aimed at detecting extremism in schools.

However, the inspector highlighted some positives, including effective parental partnerships.

“The manager shows a positive attitude to remedy the shortfalls identified at the inspection and demonstrates a satisfactory capacity to improve,” he wrote.

“The support in place for children who speak English as an additional language is a strength of the setting.

“Parents are happy with the care their children receive. The manager understands how to keep information relating to children and staff safe.”

Commenting on the findings of the report, Ms Tanzeela said: “On the back of the Ofsted report I am aware of the action points and we are on our way to completing those actions points.

“From the report and the conversations with the inspector, we are sure that once he revisits us in due course we are well on our way to be good or outstanding.” 

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