Leeds nursery rated Inadequate by Ofsted after inspectors raise hygiene and fire safety concerns
A Leeds nursery has been downgraded by Ofsted after inspectors raised hygiene and fire safety concerns.
Laugh and Learn Day Nursery, located on Wakefield Road, Stourton, was rated Inadequate in all four inspected categories - the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.
It comes after inspectors raised a number of concerns, including leaders not taking “health and safety responsibilities seriously.”
A spokesperson for the nursery said that they had “deep concerns” at the grading after an initial rating of Good, received during an inspection on January 9, 2025, was later downgraded to Inadequate after a follow up inspection on January 21, 2025.
Ofsted said: “Leaders do not identify risks within the nursery and do not train staff to identify and report hazards. Additionally, leaders do not take their health and safety responsibilities seriously, including in relation to fire safety and hygiene practices.
“Leaders have an understanding of what they want the curriculum to achieve. However, these expectations have not been communicated well enough with staff. Subsequently, staff do not have enough understanding of what it is that children need to focus on.”
The report noted that staff “interact warmly with children”, and it was evident that some children developed “strong bonds with staff.”
Overall, children's behaviour is described as calm, and they “interact well with each other”, for instance, when older children sit together to enjoy their midday meal.
Focusing on areas of necessary improvement, the education watchdog added: “Leaders do not effectively monitor hygiene practices in the nursery. For instance, toilet areas are not suitably clean and hygienic. Children eat their tea out of play trays that have not been thoroughly cleaned.
“Leaders have not evaluated the effectiveness of fire safety procedures. For instance, fire drills do not take place and fire evacuation procedures are not understood by all staff. For instance, staff who work with babies do not know how to safely evacuate them in the event of a fire.”
The report stated that at times, planning was “effective” and children are “engaged and persevere with tasks.” However, the variation in consistency means that, overall, children are “not supported well enough” to make sufficient progress in their learning and development.
There is a special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator (SENDCO) to support children with SEND. However, support strategies are “not always well communicated with the staff” who work with these children.
A spokesperson for Laugh and Learn Day Nursery, said: “Since the inspection we have sought help and support from the local law authority early years improvement team and have actioned all areas detailed in the inspection report.
“We are all working extremely hard to rectify the concerns that Ofsted had. This is being achieved through staff training, policy and procedure review, robust risk assessments being carried out daily, fire safety procedures being reviewed and implemented.
“We are confidence that we are doing everything we can for the children in our care.”