Staff 'do not regularly' offer water to babies at this Leeds nursery in mixed Ofsted report

A nursery in Leeds has been told to improve in four key areas following a mixed Ofsted inspection.

Laugh and Learn Day Nursery, located on Wakefield Road, Hunslet, received an ‘Expected standard’ rating in two of the six inspected categories, and a ‘Needs attention’ rating in the remaining four categories during a visit by inspectors on May 18.

The nursery scored a ‘Needs attention’ rating for achievement, children’s welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance. They received an ‘Expected standard’ rating in the categories of inclusion, and behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines.

Previously rated as ‘Inadequate’ under the old grading system, a spokesperson for the nursery said that they were pleased that inspectors “recognised a number of strengths,” and that as an organisation they are “committed to continuous improvement.”

The education watchdog said: “At times, routines are not effectively managed to fully support children's welfare and wellbeing. Staff do not regularly offer water to babies and do not fully consider the need to do so.

“Babies wait for long periods of time when getting ready to go out to play. They wait until everyone is ready and become increasingly unsettled during this time. On occasions, a lack of communication between staff results in them not being clear who is attending to which children's needs.”

Some action has been taken to improve the curriculum and teaching, according to the report. But this is still in the early stages and is not yet having an impact consistently across the setting.

Leaders do not yet have effective procedures in place to ensure the curriculum is ambitious for all children across the setting, with particular regard to the youngest children. Interactions are “not consistently high quality” across all age groups.

However, staff working with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with barriers to learning, are more targeted in their approach. They demonstrate how they ensure children acquire the necessary skills.

Staff act as “positive role models for the children” and manage children's behaviour in a calm manner. They use explanations appropriate to children's age and stage of development.

Inspectors added: “Overall, children enjoy their learning but the quality of the curriculum and children's experiences are variable across the setting. This means that some children do not consistently benefit from high-quality interactions and teaching across all areas of learning.

“A love of books is encouraged. Children of all ages enjoy sharing stories and looking at picture books with staff and their friends. Children develop trusting bonds with their key person and well-thought-out settling-in procedures help with this.”

Leaders and staff have created an inclusive environment, where children's individuality is celebrated and valued, according to the report. Staff gather key information about children and families as part of the settling-in process and quickly identify any barriers to children's learning that need to be considered.

Despite this, the nursery’s environment, particularly outside, is “not always set up” to actively support the youngest children's next steps in learning and to provide a curriculum that is ambitious, and staff do not build on such things that capture their interest to extend their learning.

Since the last inspection, leaders have focused on the previously identified areas for improvement. They recognise there are still areas that need developing and have an “accurate understanding” of the strengths and what they want to improve going forward.

A spokesperson for Laugh and Learn Day Nursery, said: “We fully accept the areas identified for development. The inspection highlighted that improvements were needed to ensure consistently high-quality teaching and interactions for our youngest children, strengthen the organisation of some daily routines, including mealtimes and access to water for babies, and further enhance our monitoring of curriculum delivery across the nursery.

“As an organisation committed to continuous improvement, we welcomed this constructive feedback. The actions identified by Ofsted were implemented immediately following the inspection, with revised routines, enhanced staff deployment, additional curriculum planning and monitoring processes, and further professional development for our team. These improvements were completed within the timescales set by Ofsted.

“Our priority has always been to provide the highest quality care and education for every child. We continually review and develop our practice and remain committed to delivering an outstanding experience for the children and families who attend Laugh and Learn Day Nursery.”