Northampton nursery which fed young children whole grapes rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted

A nursery in Northampton, run by a well-known operator, has been rated ‘inadequate’ by the education watchdog, due to a number of failings, including feeding children whole grapes, letting them put shaving foam in their mouth and more.

ABC123 in St George’s Avenue opposite The Racecourse, which provides day care for children up to the age of four, was inspected by Ofsted on December 4 last year after its last inspection in October 2021, when it was rated ‘good’.

The nursery, which is registered to The Nannery Limited, was rated ‘inadequate’ in all four categories including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management, at its latest inspection.

In a report published on February 20, 2024, Ofsted inspectors said: “Staff do not ensure the setting is a safe place for children to play and as a result, expose them to hazards.

“They do not take the necessary steps to ensure unknown persons cannot enter the building. Staff provide shaving foam, not suitable for children, as sensory play for babies. Children put this in their mouth and become upset by the unpleasant taste.

“Other children wander the environment eating crackers and are given whole grapes, which is not safe practice and creates a risk of choking.”

Other failings

• Staff do not support children's understanding of good hygiene as they fail to ensure children wipe themselves before pulling up their clothing or washing their hands.
• Children receive a significantly poor quality of care and education as staff lack the necessary knowledge and skills to support them. Children are not assigned a key person at the setting, and staff in their rooms do not know children's ages, cultures, or what languages they speak.
• Children of all ages deemed by staff as having special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are grouped together and segregated from their peers in a separate room and garden space.
• Staff do not supervise babies well enough to notice when they put items such as metal hair clips in their mouth.
• Staff do not understand the hygiene risks when children pick up hay outside, which potentially contains chicken faeces. They were allowed to carry this around for the morning as they get ready for lunch.
• Safeguarding is not effective.
• The nursery is not secure from unknown people.

Inspectors did say children mainly build positive relationships with staff and that staff remind some children not to climb on chairs and tables and help them follow some routines such as following a member of staff to a different room if they have a packed lunch from home. Although inspectors did say this support is “inconsistent”.

The report also says parents are “happy with the care their children receive and are complimentary about the staff and setting”.

Action taken

Due to the failings, Ofsted issued a welfare requirements notice, which required the provider to take necessary steps to keep children safe and well, ensure an effective key-person system is implemented, ensure information about care is shared with parents, take necessary steps to ensure building is secure from unknown people and ensure staff meet the needs of children with additional needs.

The management was asked to ensure all of these requirements were implemented by January 4, 2024.

Ofsted inspectors revisited twice following the December 2023 inspection, including on January 10 and February 6, to check if the requirements from the welfare notice had been implemented.

During the January visit, inspectors said the nursery had taken action to ensure the premises is safe and secure, had taken steps to reduce hazards and to inform parents about their child’s time at the nursery. However, they had not met other requirements set out by the notice, so another was issued. They were told that by February 4 they had to ensure staff meet the needs of those with additional needs and ensure there is an effective key-person system in place.

When inspectors revisited earlier this month, they found that the provider had taken action to make sure all children were provided with a key worker. Inspectors say staff now know the children that they care for “well”.

The report added: “Staff are aware of each child's home language, medical needs and any additional support that they may require. Those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, all have a key worker.”

Due to the improvements, inspectors said they are “satisfied” the provider has met the safeguarding and welfare actions raised, and confirmed the provider is still registered with Ofsted.

An ABC123 spokesperson said: “The 30 staff and well over 100 parents wholeheartedly disagreed and we forwarded these comments and hours of CCTV footage to Ofsted. We disputed every line written on this report.”

Read the full Ofsted report here.

More about The Nannery Limited

The company which ABC123 is registered to is well known in Northampton.

It used to run Churchside - also known as Home from Home - in Spencer Avenue, which was rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted in 2020, shortly before the daycare shut down. It was also rated ‘inadequate’ in 2019 when it was called Home from Home.

The Dovecote in Kislingbury also closed down in 2021, however the operator insisted this was due to a long-term staff illness and not an Ofsted inspection. Also in 2021, The Nannery was ordered to pay nearly £40,000 in compensation after they refused to let a pregnant manager attend hospital appointments and sacked her over false allegations.

The Nannery Limited has also previously operated ABC123 in Crow Lane, Little Billing and Home from Home in Little Houghton. According to Ofsted, both of these nurseries are also now shut.