Sandbrook Nursery School

Overview

The inspection was significantly constrained by industrial action, with staff refusing to cooperate with inspectors. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) was “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education and safeguarding being provided for the children.” The report states that no performance levels could be assigned to outcomes, provision, or leadership due to the lack of available evidence.

Strengths

• The report identifies no strengths, as the ETI was “unable to evaluate” the quality of provision, outcomes for learners, or leadership and management.
• No data was provided by the setting regarding attendance, staff qualifications, or session details.
• The ETI could not report on the views of parents or staff, as the nursery did not distribute questionnaire information.

Areas to improve

• The school must address urgent safeguarding issues, including updating training for governors on child protection and revising out-of-date key policies.
• Draft policies for Anti-bullying, Positive Behaviour, and Health and Safety need to be “finalised and ratified by the governors.”
• The ETI designated the nursery as a “high priority for future inspection with no further notification” due to the inability to assure quality.

Safeguarding

The ETI returned in June 2017 and found that while arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance issued by the relevant Departments,” work on finalising specific policies remains incomplete.