Nursery loses outstanding rating after children found not to be washing their hands before eating

A Croydon nursery has been told to improve after inspectors found children weren’t washing their hands before eating.

Ofsted inspectors visited Little Apples Day Nursery in South Croydon in November 2021 and published their report on Friday, February 18.

It gave the nursery a “requires improvement” rating dropping from its previous “outstanding” rating in 2016.

The report said staff did not make sure kids washed their hands before eating.

But Little Apples Day Nursery said they have been fighting the outcome of the report ever since and slammed the report as an “inaccurate reflection” of the nursery.

The report said: “Children have opportunities to practise their independence skills. For example, younger children have a go at feeding themselves at snack and lunchtime.

“Although children have freshly cooked and nutritious meals, their physical health is not always assured.

“This is because some staff do not ensure that hand washing procedures are consistently implemented.”

It also found that while staff were offered some training “this arrangement is weak, resulting in varied performance in staff’s teaching practice”.

It also told the nursery to improve how it shares information with parents.

Inspectors found parents were not informed about their child’s learning and development by staff.

The nursery opened in 2012, employs 24 members of staff and looks after children between the ages of two and four.

A spokesperson for the nursery said: “[We] find the report to be an inaccurate reflection of the services provided. We continue to maintain our positive reputation established over the last 10 years and will continue to fight to overturn the grade.

“The improvements suggested in the report, although not agreed with, are minor and are already in place.

“We will continue to review and improve our service as we always have done and thank all staff and parents within the Little Apples community on their support throughout the pandemic and through this process.”