The nursery was judged Inadequate in December, with inspectors findings that ‘children’s welfare was being compromised due to breaches of safeguarding requirements.’
Inspectors also found that ‘leaders fail to ensure that staff proactively identify risks’, and ‘leaders and managers do not consistently ensure that qualification requirements are met during early morning shifts’.
The inspection report does state however that ‘leaders have a clear vision and demonstrate the capacity to make improvements’. Also, that children at the setting ‘enjoy listening to stories, which helps them develop a love of reading.’
This is the first time the setting has been inspected since Storal took over the Farley nursery chain two years ago.
Storal said that the staff team have been through a lot of change recently, and it’s been ‘tough finding qualified early years educators for an outdoor nursery in Sparsholt.
According to Nursery World’s Nursery Chains 2024, it is the only setting operated by Storal to hold an inadequate judgement. The nursery group came fourth in our Nursery Chains quality table, which is calculated using Ofsted inspection grades.
'We are confident that the necessary improvements are being made'.
In a statement, Storal said, ‘While the report is naturally disappointing, everyone is coming together to make positive changes. We are all confident that the necessary improvements are being made and a new, improved outcome will be obtained.
‘A detailed improvement plan is being implemented and Ofsted will be back within six months to reinspect.
Farley Sparsholt’s nursery manager, Kerry Nettel, added, ‘I’ve recently stepped in to support the team at Farley Sparsholt from one of our other nurseries. The team has been through a lot of change recently and it’s been tough finding qualified early years educators for our outdoor nursery in Sparsholt. We are quite a rural nursery which can make recruitment more challenging and it has been generally difficult to attract talent in the early years sector.
‘ I’m really confident the team is now coming together, embracing training and development and making sure the children have a wonderful experience we can be proud of and we’re confident the outcome at the next inspection will be much improved.’