By Lucy Caulkett-
A nursery school has been blasted as inadequate by Ofsted for failing to protect children there.
Ofsted rated City and Holbeck Nursery school as “inadequate” in every aspect, expressing concerns about the safeguarding children.
According to the watchdog, risk assessments at the nursery is poor in too many areas. Security of the young children at the nursery is below standard , and signs of neglect are often missed by staff who ought to detect them. In its damning report, Ofsted said:
“Despite undertaking training, some staff are unable to identify possible signs of abuse or neglect, or indicators that children may be at risk of harm from extreme behaviours and views. “Unauthorised persons are able to gain access to the nursery through the open windows to the side of the building.” The implications of the report by Ofsted are that the City and Holbeck Nursery school is not one to be recommended to parents choosing a nursery for their children. If strangers can easily access the nursery, it means a child there can be kidnapped because of the poor state of its security system.The report also indicated that there may be children there suffering from child abuse and neglect who are not getting the right kind of attention.
Leeds City Council took over the City and Holbeck Nursery school in 2016 when its previous owners became defunct. Since then, the progress of its new management has been sluggish in its overall development.
Steve Walker, Leeds City Council’s director of children and family services, said: “We are very disappointed with this judgement from Ofsted as Leeds City Council Children’s Centres generally have an excellent track record in terms of providing good quality childcare provision.”He said new staff training has been introduced, and that a series of further safety measures have been put in place following the inspection.Mr Walker added: “Our aim is for all children in Leeds to get the very best start in life. We are working with staff to ensure that rapid improvements are made and that children at City and Holbeck Children’s Centre enjoy high quality provision.”