A BASINGSTOKE nursery has been told it needs to improve following an Ofsted inspection.

The education provider visited Cornerstone Day Nursery, in Priestley Road, on February 18, and a report published on March 11 said it “requires improvement”.

At its previous inspection in 2012 it was rated as “good”.

Inspectors have given Fencebright Limited, which runs the nursery, various targets to achieve before March 18, to meet the requirements of the early years’ foundation stage.

These include providing the manager with effective support to monitor the curriculum, and training staff on raising the quality of teaching so it is consistently good.

Ofsted said: “Staff provide a warm and welcoming environment for children. Children are comforted by the caring staff with cuddles and reassurance to help them feel safe. Staff get to know the children well and work in partnership with parents to meet their individual needs.”

Inspectors found the curriculum covers the key areas, however there were differences in the quality of care and education across the nursery, which has 218 children on its roll, aged from nought to four.

The report said: “Children in the toddler rooms in particular, do not receive learning opportunities that are consistently as good as other areas of the nursery.”

It noted changes to management arrangements, staffing and the organisation of groups of children and their rooms, adding: “This has contributed to some practices and procedures not yet being securely embedded. Some staff are still establishing their roles and responsibilities.”

Inspectors found staff skills and experience vary, adding: “Staff are not always effectively deployed and do not swiftly adapt their routine and the provision on offer. This impacts on their ability to meet children's needs consistently well.”

Teaching was found to be stronger in the baby room and the pre-school rooms.

The report said: “Staff plan some exciting activities designed to stimulate children's senses, such as when babies enjoy scooping and crushing cereal and older children experiment with textures and flavours in the play dough they make. As a result, children in these rooms are eager to explore and enjoy their learning. All staff have good expectations for the children in their care.”

It added: “Managers are beginning to understand what needs to improve within the nursery. They have positive plans for the future and have started to embed a new planning system and ethos across the nursery. The manager recognises that she now needs to focus monitoring and support on improving the overall quality of teaching and the curriculum, particularly in the toddler rooms.”

Ofsted noted that the manager “recognises that she needs further support from the provider and senior management to effectively and confidently support her staff team”.

In the toddler room, inconsistent teaching was said to “limit children’s enjoyment and progress” and the learning environment was said to be “not exciting or inspiring enough”.

The provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities was found to be “strong”.

Some staff were found to have “unrealistic expectations of children’s ability to wait”.

The report said: “This causes children to become upset and restless, creating a hectic environment that does not support their behavioural needs and emotional wellbeing effectively enough.”

Safeguarding was found to be effective.

To improve, the nursery was asked to improve staff deployment procedures; review the organisation of daily routines to ensure children are not sitting waiting for extended periods of time; develop the use of the outside area to better engage children’s interests; and identify “ambitious” next steps for each child’s learning.

A spokesman for the nursery said: "Cornerstone Day Nursery works very hard to provide the very best care and education to children. We have never been busier with over 200 registered children.

"The result of our recent inspection was not the desired outcome but ofsted have a very small snapshot of a day at our nursery and there are very small steps to take in order to bring us back to the result of our previous inspection which was over 7 years ago.

"The nursery has had an extensive refurbishment and undergone many positive changes across 2019 and our staff and management team are positive about the nursery's future. 

"We’d like to thank the parents of the nursery for their continued ongoing support and praise for our setting."