Training needs to improve at Luton nursery says Ofsted after new staff taken on

A Luton nursery has been given a mid September deadline by Ofsted inspectors to improve the training for its new staff.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The Bright Eyes Nursery on Mount Pleasant Road, takes in children from the age of six months and has been open since 2020.

Ofsted inspector Lisa Smith ruled the nursery requires improvement, despite stating that children enjoy coming to the nursery, and that staff were supportive and attentive.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And nursery owner Shantelle Richards said she looked forward to the next visit from the education watchdog.

The nursery siteThe nursery site
The nursery site

“We have recently had new staff and implemented big changes to our daily routine and our Ofsted inspector recognised this journey that we are on and complimented us on it,” she said.

The inspector said: “The quality of education is variable. Staff's interactions with children are inconsistent across the nursery. This has an impact on the amount of progress children make.

"The manager has a good understanding of her curriculum intent for the nursery. However, staff do not implement this curriculum effectively. Interactions between staff and children are not always inspiring or offer challenge to children.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She added: “Staff say that they feel well supported by the manager and they work well together as a team. Recent staffing changes have meant that the number of qualified staff has reduced. This has had an impact on the quality of teaching. However, the manager and her team are working with the local authority and other settings to review their practice and to strengthen the learning environment.”

Read More
Luton appeal to donate old school uniforms to help families in need

Ms Smith described how children were confident and interacted with visitors. “They watch for their familiar adults, knowing they are close by if needed,” she said. “Children enjoy the company of their friends. They actively seek each other out to play with. Older and younger children mix well together in the main room. There is a large array of resources available to children and they enjoy exploring these.

"Children develop a love of books. Using a book of the month, staff bring alive stories, such as 'The Three Little Pigs'. Children explore hay, string and bricks to create houses. Staff attempt to adapt the activities to support younger children. However, staff lack the skills to keep the younger children engaged and they become distracted very easily.”

Nursery manager Shantell Richards said: “The action plan for the nursery included developing the curriculum to ensure that it clearly identifies what it is that all children need to learn, how this reflects their individual needs and offers appropriate challenge, to help them make at least good progress and focus professional development plans on improving staff's teaching skills that help them to support children in building on what they already know and can do.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I was able to show the inspector what we had changed and why and also prove all the training we had done and what was already pre-booked for my staff members and she was satisfied. However, because some staff members were new and had not completed all training, the inspector gave us until 20th September to complete all the training I have in place hence the grade that we received.

“Our journey is a positive one and I look forward to our next visit.”

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly featured an image of the Strong Tower Nursery. This was an error and the Strong Tower Nursery was not connected to the article, nor the Ofsted report quoted. We sincerely apologise for the error and for any upset caused.

Related topics: