A BASILDON pre-school has been rated Requires Improvement in their first inspection after being taken over three years ago.

The Oakwood Pre School, in St Marys Church Hall, Langdon Hills, was rated Requires Improvement in all areas of inspection after “children were not sufficiently challenged”.

Inspectors found staff do not help children build on key skills.

The report stated: “Children are not always sufficiently challenged to extend their learning and build on what they already know.

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“Staff do not consider potential learning opportunities or provide resources to broaden learning.

“Children are initially interested and engage but quickly lose interest and move on to something else.

“Staff do not ensure the activities provided have a sharp focus on what children need to learn next.”

At the time of inspection, there were 44 children on roll, who were all aged between two and four.

Inspectors also staff does not use monitoring systems effectively.

The report stated: “The management team do not use staff supervision and performance monitoring systems effectively.

“Weaknesses in practice are not identified and actioned swiftly.
“As a result, not all staff have the best knowledge and understanding of how to provide children with rich learning opportunities and challenges to extend their learning, which has an impact on the progress children make.”

The Oakwood Pre School was re-registered in 2019 and is open from 9am until 3pm Monday to Thursday, and 9am until 11:45 on a Friday.

Despite being rated Requires Improvement inspectors did find the safeguarding was effective.

The report stated: “All staff understand their roles and responsibilities to keep children safe.

“They are clear about the procedure to follow, should they have a concern regarding a child’s well-being.

“All staff complete safeguarding training, which includes wider aspects of children protection.

“They are aware of possible signs and behaviours that may indicate a child is at risk.

“Children are closely supervised to ensure they remain safe.”

The pre-school was contacted for a comment but did not respond in time for print.

To read the full report, visit https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50183061