‘Inadequate’ Northampton nursery forced to take action after scathing Ofsted report

A Northampton nursery has taken action after Ofsted published a scathing report, raising concerns about sleeping babies being left alone and “bored” children.

Inspectors visited Davey Day Care in Quinton Green Farm in February and subsequently published a highly critical report that graded them ‘inadequate’ in every category.

Despite receiving the worst possible Ofsted inspection outcome, parents told inspectors they were happy with the care their children received.

As a result, the nursery was told it had to take actions to address these concerns.

A spokesperson for Ofsted said: “On 21 March 2023, we carried out an unannounced regulatory visit. We found the provider had met the actions set. The provider will be able to give parents further information about this. The provider is still registered with Ofsted.”

The initial inspection raised serious concerns about safeguarding including children not being adequately supervised when playing on large indoor climbing frames or with marbles. It was also reported that babies were left sleeping alone where staff were not able to see or hear them.

Inspectors also found that children’s learning was not being prioritised, which resulted in boredom.

The report said: “They do not provide meaningful activities to help children to make progress. Consequently, children become bored and wander around the nursery with no purpose.”

Staff were found to be inconsistent in how they manage challenging behaviour from children and, as a result, children did not learn what was expected from them.

Poor arrangements for transitions meant that children became unsettled and upset when being cared for by an unfamiliar adult.

Although the provider could identify children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), Ofsted said they did not ensure staff have the skills they need to support those children. As a result SEND children did not always get the help they needed.

Despite the weaknesses, older children showed “high levels of confidence” and enjoyed playing outdoors. Children were also provided with healthy and nutritious meals.

Ofsted have now confirmed that Davey Day Care have taken actions to resolve the above concerns.

The nursery has been contacted by the Chronicle & Echo for comment.

Davey Day Care’s was graded good in all areas, following its last full inspection in 2017.

Read the full Ofsted report here.