A nursery in Oldham has been slammed by the education watchdog for untrained staff operating in a 'chaotic environment' with hazards lying around and babies sleeping on the floor while children are at risk of harm.

Shooting Stars Pre-School Nursery, situated in Aadam House on Lees Road, looks after infants and children aged zero to 11.

Investigations by Ofsted inspectors reveal the nursery continues to fall below expected educational standards while also struggling to safeguard the children from harm.

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Visiting the premises in April this year, inspector Lois Hulley rated the nursery as "inadequate" across the board - in the quality of education, its behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

In her recently published report, praise was scarce for leaders and teachers as Ms Hulley highlighted some major concerns.

When it came to education, she found that leaders "fail" to ensure children learn and develop well.

This comes down to the lack of a "capable person" in the nursery when the manager is absent, since "staff do not understand their roles and responsibilities" and do not understand what the children need to learn.

She wrote organisation of the nursery is "poor" and that this "leads to a chaotic environment" where the children are "bored and frustrated", in turn hindering their communication and language skills.

As for the lessons, the report revealed the children are starved of an enjoyable curriculum as it is "poorly planned and lacks ambition", leaving them to "lose interest" and start playing.

But Ofsted placed the blame on the 'inadequate' leadership of the Shooting Stars, writing that leaders "do not provide staff with the necessary support and training" and have generally "poor oversight" of the nursery.

Due to the hectic leadership, Ofsted said staff have a "poor understanding" of how to manage the children's behaviour, are not adequately supervised, supported, coached or trained and therefore fail to use appropriate strategies to support the children's progress and wellbeing.

Ms Hulley wrote: "Staff are not equipped with the skills to help children manage their emotions positively.

"This causes children to become more upset and confused.

"Children do not learn to develop positive behaviour."

The inspector also had concerns for vulnerable children at the nursery, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) as Ms Hulley said they are "disadvantaged" and rarely engaged.

Among the litany of failures, the watchdog said leaders simply "fail to grasp" the importance of partnership working, particularly when it comes to supporting SEND children.

Staff were further criticised for failing to identify and minimise hazards in the outdoor play area - and for leaving rodent repellent, discarded flooring and broken toys in the reach of children.

The report continued: "Children are at risk of accident and injury.

"Children's safety cannot be assured."

Most alarmingly, the report revealed there were "several" safeguarding, welfare, learning and development breaches.

As an example, Ms Hulley said babies are "left to sleep directly on the carpet" which poses a risk to their safety while children play outside among hazards.

Another area of concern was the fact staff looking after babies had not received the appropriate training which could harm their health and wellbeing.

Even the food on offer was harmful as the inspector said the children were given unhealthy snacks and meals while babies under one were given inappropriate food for their state of development. 

In addition, the inspector found children's development at the nursery was not shared with parents, meaning those who need the most help risk falling even further behind.

On a positive note, Ofsted said staff do "show care and kindness" to the children as they "cuddle babies" and "talk enthusiastically" to the youngsters.

They also understood how to promote equality as they welcome all children and families into the nursery while providing a range of toys and resources that challenge gender stereotypes. 

Ofsted has now instructed the nursery to urgently improve in nine areas, from risk assessments of hazards, training staff to look after babies, a developed curriculum, better supervision of staff to communicating with parents, putting arrangements in place for children with SEND, teaching staff how strategies on effective behaviour management and providing healthy food.

The renewed warnings come as the nursery was subject to a complaint in December 2020 where Ofsted found staff failed to report a child protection concern and that the nursery did not have appropriate insurance.

The nursery also claims to be a 'good' provider by Ofsted on its website but this refers to a report dating back to 2017.

Shooting Stars Nursery has been approached for comment but did not issue a response before publication.

If you have a story, I cover all things Oldham from food reviews and local business news to music and events, pubs, education, crime, property, health, community concerns and much more. Please email me at Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk or send me a message on Twitter @Livbridge with your news.