Padiham nursery owner's vow after Ofsted inspector's praise for tackling criticisms

And while the Victoria Nursery at Padiham still requires improvement across the board, inspectors praised the owner and staff for addressing weaknesses identified at the previous inspection.

Since the report in April, when the nursery was rated as inadequate, inspectors said that all staff have refreshed their knowledge of child protection procedures.

This step was taken in response to criticisms by Ofsted that safeguarding was not effective as staff and managers had insufficient knowledge of the signs and indicators of abuse and the procedures to follow in the event of an allegation against a member of staff.

The nursery was also praised as Early Years Pupil Premium funding has been used appropriately to support disadvantaged children.

Nursery owner Miss Kerry Driver said she was "over the moon" with the report and was working towards the business being judged as "outstanding" at its next Ofsted report in a year.

She said: "The inspector was pleased with the progress we have made from the first report in April to the second one just three months later in July.

"Staff have worked really hard, I am very proud of them and also very happy with the progress we have made.

"Support from parents has also been fantastic, they are superb."

Miss Driver lodged an official complaint against Ofsted after the first damning report which she claimed contained factual inaccuracies.

She added: "Because of that they came back within three months, otherwise we would had wait another six months.

"The inspector said she could not give us a "good" rating as there hasn't been enough time to get certain things embedded."

The report states that the Victoria Nursery is not yet good for a number of reasons. The first is that older children make less progress in literacy compared to other aspects of learning such as understanding the world.

Inspector Tricia Graham said while the quality of teaching was improving it was not consistently good and older children become a little disengaged in some activities which results in disruption.

Staff in the baby room were criticised for not adapting activities well enough to allow babies to practise and refine their emerging physical skills.

Recruitment and vetting procedures were described as not sufficiently robust at the nursery in Padiham Road.

Mrs Graham said: "This means the suitability of adults is not fully assured.

"The provider does not record information about staff identity checks or vetting processes that have been undertaken."

The "vibrant" outdoor play area was seen as one of the nursery's strengths providing children with an abundance of learning opportunities.

Inspectors were also impressed that children grow lots of fresh fruit and vegetables in a well resourced garden area which helps them to develop positive attitudes about healthy eating.