Improvements have been made at a Widnes pre-school after inspectors raised serious concerns over child safety and welfare.
Government watchdog Ofsted delivered a damning assessment of Our Lady’s First Steps Pre-School at Clincton View following an inspection in July which came as the result of a tip off.
In a report published this week, Ofsted found it had required ‘urgent improvement’ due to concerns including child safety and safeguarding and issued two Welfare Requirements Notices (WRNs) – formal legal notices requiring it to take urgent action to address the issues raised.
When inspectors visited on July 7 they found that leaders had ‘failed to ensure that all staff working at the site had been suitably vetted’ and that not all staff had a relevant Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check or references.
Inspectors also found that staff at the 105-place pre school – which is based on the site of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School but is independent – continued to put children to sleep in pushchairs despite recent Government guidelines indicating this was ‘unsafe’. They also found that children were not sufficiently supervised when transitioning from the garden to the dining room.
Ofsted gave it a series of deadlines in which to make specific improvements – which it said it had now made.
Following a regulatory visit on July 20 Ofsted said the pre-school had now ensured all staff had ‘appropriate references and pre-recruitment checks’, and that a ‘robust risk assessment’ for moving children around had been implemented to ensure children are in sight and/or hearing at all times.
It added: “The provider and the staff team have created individual risk assessments to support children at sleep times.
“Furthermore, stringent procedures have been implemented to ensure
children are well supervised at mealtimes. All of these new procedures help to ensure children’s safety and well-being. We are satisfied that the provider has met the actions from this WRN.”
Another visit was made on August 6 which found the pre-school had implemented ‘robust procedures’ for staff induction and supervision to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to fulfil their roles.
The report said: “Significant work had been undertaken with the local authority to identify and access training and support. They have also introduced secure procedures for supporting staff who take medication to ensure their ongoing suitability.”
It concluded: “These new procedures and practices help to ensure children’s health and well-being. We are satisfied that the provider has met the actions from this WRN.”
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