Nursery school near centre of Bristol rated ‘Good’ three months after Ofsted incident

A child was left unattended by staff in June

A nursery school near the centre of Bristol has retained its ‘Good’ rating, three months after an incident where a child was left unsupervised by staff on the premises. Becket Hall Day Nursery, on St Thomas Street in Redcliffe, was rated as ‘Good’ across the board by Ofsted in an inspection dated September 10.

The privately-owned nursery, near the city centre, offers early years education for children up to three years old. The nursery, which is operated from a converted church building, is open every weekday for 51 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays.

On June 12, 2024, Ofsted were alerted by the nursery of an incident where a child was “left unsupervised by staff on the premises”. On June 24, a regulatory phone call was carried out where it was discovered that the nursery was “not meeting some of the requirements and had taken action to put it right”, resulting in improved safety measures when taking children outside.

When inspectors visited the nursery last month, they found the school continues to be ‘Good’, despite the incident. Children are able to benefit from a “warm and inviting environment” and happily explore the nursery and opportunities to play.

Children are also able to form strong attachments with familiar staff, who are able to tailor the curriculum to support individual interests and needs. The report said: “Children feel emotionally secure, especially when they move between rooms and receive the reassurance they need to feel confident to explore.

“Children behave well and understand the 'golden rules', they receive support to be calm and re-engage in their learning from knowledgeable staff. Older children keenly respond to questions as they listen to a familiar and chosen story. They are excited when staff show interest in their ideas.”

Inspectors praised the children for loving to be active, even those learning to stand enjoy reaching and pulling themselves up. Children are aware that their familiar person is close by and are able to get help when needed.

When children are playing outside, they develop their strength whilst moving in different ways, including on balance bikes, climbing on tyres and walking along wooden planks. The children are supportive of their friends and receive praise when swapping equipment with one another.

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Becket Hall Day Nursery supports staff to develop a “well-planned curriculum”, which is adapted to meet all the needs of children. Assessments are used, including learning stories, to monitor progress and work closely with parents to identify when additional support may be needed.

The report said: “Staff gather essential information from parents when children first start at the nursery and review it regularly, particularly for the youngest children. This means that staff can meet children's individual care and learning needs successfully. Staff frequently provide parents with updates about children's learning and daily routines.

“On the whole, staff interactions with children are good, and children are well supported to make the progress of which they are capable. However, staff do not always use effective questioning to encourage children to think of solutions and provide answers quickly.

“Staff are respectful and give children a five-minute warning so they can finish their play. Staff are clear about expectations, helping even the youngest children to tidy away, and staff repeat expectations, such as reminding children about quiet spaces and offering an alternative space to play instruments. However, on occasion, staff do not consider the impact on children's attention and concentration when preparing for outdoor play, which can be disruptive.”

Children at the nursery gain good independence and relish the opportunity to help out at given opportunities. The leadership at the school are able to guide staff well, especially with new and less-experienced staff, and know what is needed to raise the quality of the children’s experiences further.

The report added: “There are effective recruitment and induction arrangements to ensure that staff are suitable for their role, and remain so. All staff understand their responsibilities to record and report any concerns they may have that a child is at risk of harm to ensure that the children remain safe.“

Why was the nursery given a one-word judgement?

The use of one-word and two-word judgements have been scrapped by Ofsted in September and will be replaced with a school report card system which gives a deeper analysis of the school. Inspections which occurred before the change will continue to use the judgements, whilst future inspections will use the new system.

However, the changes in the way inspections are carried out and graded only affects state-schools at the moment. Schools, like Becket Hall Day Nursery, which are privately-funded will still be graded by one-word and two-word judgements.

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