Bradley Stoke Mama Bear’s Nursery rated inadequate - nursery issues statement

A nursery in Bradley Stoke has been rated inadequate by Ofsted inspectors due to lack of key paperwork. Mama Bear’s Nursery was given the rating after inspectors raised concerns about management not following proper recruitment and safeguarding procedures.

Inspectors visited the nursery and pre-school at Baileys Court in Bradley Stoke on November 21, and rated both inadequate. The nursery dropped down from a good rating, while the pre-school was previously rated outstanding.

The key issues relate to keeping safeguarding records when concerns about staff’s conduct are raised. Ofsted told the nursery to check all staff were suitable to work with children, and to improve safeguarding procedures. Elsewhere, inspectors found many other aspects of the nursery to be good, with children appearing happy and well looked after by nursery staff.

Inspector Charlotte Jenkin said: “Safeguarding procedures are not robust enough to keep children safe from harm. Gaps in recruitment procedures mean that the provider does not do enough to ensure that new staff are suitable to care for children. In addition, leaders have not ensured that allegations against staff are managed effectively.

“Children settle quickly and show they are confident and happy in the nursery. Staff have high expectations of young children and help them develop their self-care skills at a young age. Children use cutlery to feed themselves at lunchtime, and staff offer support to help them learn these skills when needed.

“The manager has a clear curriculum intent and knows what skills and knowledge she wants young children to learn as they become ready to move to pre-school. Staff know the children well, including their interests and abilities and what they need to learn next. Children make good progress across the areas of learning.”

While quality of education, behaviour and attitudes were found to be good, inspectors said personal development, leadership and management were inadequate. Mama Bear’s said they were marked down because of how certain processes were documented, which has “now been corrected”.

A spokesman for Mama Bear’s said: “The overall outcome is disappointing to us. We were marked down on inadequate documentation of certain processes, and this has now been corrected.

“The safety and well-being of the children we care for is paramount and underpins all that we do, and we can confirm that all recruitment procedures are fully adhered to and that following this inspection we have also ensured that all additional checks and processes are documented as evidence.

“In terms of the actions identified on this report, these are now fully in place within the setting. We expect the setting to be re-inspected within three to six months and have asked for this happen at the earliest opportunity, as we are confident the overall judgement will be improved at the next inspection.”