CHILDREN’S day nursery and pre-school Bright Horizons, located next to Farnham Rugby Club in Monkton Lane, has vowed to take Ofsted’s feedback “very seriously” after being handed a ‘requires improvement’ rating at the first time of asking.

Ofsted inspector Helen Robinshaw published the results of her November 5 inspection at Bright Horizons - its first since opening in June 2017 - this week, giving the nursery a second-lowest ‘requires improvement’ score in all four areas judged by the inspectorate.

In her summary, Mrs Robinshaw identified that:

* Managers do not check that staff training is effective enough to ensure that all staff can be left to carry out all of their duties.

* Staff do not have a secure knowledge and understanding of how children learn to listen and speak. They are not well equipped to teach very young children, or children with delayed starts, how to make good progress quickly.

* Staff do not consistently share key information with parents, such as the name of their key person, dates for room changes or the next steps in their children’s learning.

* Some staff do not clearly identify the signs that indicate when some children are seeking more attention and challenge.

The inspector did, however, praise managers’ monitoring of children’s progress, the nursery’s “attentive and caring” staff for being alert to the needs of babies, and its support of the children’s physical development.

Responding, a Bright Horizons spokesperson said: “Following the recent disappointing inspection judgement we have taken Ofsted’s feedback very seriously. Our priority as always is the wellbeing and education of the children in our care and our partnership with parents. We know that parents place a huge trust in us to do the best for their family and we are doing all we can, as a matter of urgency, to maintain their trust and confidence.

“We have a development plan underway at the nursery and are committed to delivering the quality of care and education that we can be proud of. We are heartened by the many positive comments within the inspection report but also mindful of the observations that have led to this overall rating.

“We are addressing these concerns as a matter of priority and we have provided additional support to the nursery from our highly qualified quality development manager and regional team.”