A pre-school was rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted after it found “children’s welfare is compromised”.

Little Furze Pre-School in Northwick Road, South Oxhey, for children aged two to five, was downgraded from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’ after inspectors visited on September 28.

In the report, they said they were "unable to complete appropriate suitability checks" to ensure that those with access to information about children are suitable because the provider had failed to notify Ofsted about committee changes.

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The inspectors said: “Children's welfare is compromised because the provider demonstrates insufficient understanding of their responsibility to meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage.

“The provider has failed to notify Ofsted when there has been a change to committee members. Furthermore, the provider has not informed Ofsted of changes to details of existing committee members.”

However, there were positives in terms of safeguarding.

“The manager and staff have robust knowledge of the signs and symptoms that could indicate a child is at risk of harm," they added.

“They explain the correct process to follow when raising concerns about the welfare of a child and the need to do so in a timely manner.”

Personal development was also found to be inadequate with coaching and mentoring “not yet sufficient to support staff to identify ways in which to improve their practice”.

Despite this, quality of education and behaviour and attitudes were found to be good.

The report said that “children are happy at the pre-school” and are greeted by enthusiastic staff in a “language-rich environment”.

Children were found to have a positive attitude about learning and good behaviour.

“For example, children are excited to join in when it is time to tidy up. Enthusiastic staff make this a fun activity by offering lots of praise, and reward children's efforts with stickers.

"When children display inappropriate behaviour, staff are swift to intervene.

"However, they do not always encourage children to explore the consequences their actions may have on themselves and others."

The pre-school’s relationships with parents and schools were found to be good, with information being shared regularly to support children at home and when transitioning to new settings.

Little Furze was contacted for comment.

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