Rochdale nursery rated inadequate over safety concerns

The nursery was heavily criticised but praised for the way children were looked after in other areas

A nursery where fire exits were blocked and children were able to "run around carrying hot soup" has been rated inadequate.

Ofsted said children at Small World Nurseries in Rochdale were exposed to "potential hazards".

The watchdog report found risk assessment and safeguarding polices were "not well implemented".

However, it did praise the children's education and behaviour, describing them as "confident and curious".

The centre in Castleton looks after nearly 70 children aged between one and four.

The report said children were left vulnerable to avoidable injuries as conditions at the nursery were not always suitable and safe.

"Hazards such as blocked fire exits, uneven surfaces and children running with hot liquids are not identified," inspectors said.

The report described how children would "fall repeatedly" when the uneven ground in the outdoor area became slippery.

'Not effective'

"Although the environment is risk-assessed daily, this is not effective," the report added.

The watchdog also said: "Children are given hot soup to drink outdoors. They are not given appropriate direction on how to drink this safely.

"This means that children run around on wet, slippery ground carrying hot soup, posing a risk to themselves and others."

The nursery was also found to be failing to identify other practices posing a risk to children, including providing phones for staff to use in the nursery to take photos of children without considering the risk posed by devices with "unfiltered internet access".

Ofsted criticised the management team's evaluations for being "not robust enough to recognise and rectify these concerns".

The nursery was praised for its relationship with parents, who had described staff as "wonderful".

They were said to "feel reassured when their children leave the setting smiling and happy each day".

Inspectors noted that "all children make good progress" and their communication and language skills were "well supported".

The deputy manager was praised as "extremely passionate about her role".