Elm park nursery Post Reply

[SusanP.]

Hi everyone, does anyone have any thoughts on this nursery?thanks

[Ivytree]

I see Elm Park has gone down from Good to Inadequate in the 2013 ofsted report. Anyone have a views on this? I was thinking of going to look at it. Thanks

[HappyMaman]

Hi,
My DS has been going there in baby rooms for 18 months and he's loving it there. The staff is wonderful and so caring. You can tell they love the children & their jobs. They have just refurbished the garden which is splendid

Lots of activities, free play, good varied food, light rooms and definitely Montessori principles are applied.DS is so happy to go in the morning, you know they 're doing right.

The Ofsted downgrade was due to accidents before the refurbishment of the garden and ratio staff/children during peak hours (drop off mornings).

I can fully recommend this nursery. I visited 8 before choosing this one and I don't regret it. Go for it!

[kfk101]

I would also recommend this nursery. My daughter has been there since she turned 3 and I am very impressed with how she has developed socially and academically. Her drawing, writing and comprehension have really improved as has her social awareness and general behaviour. I've been amazed at how much the staff observe and the handover/feedback I get at the end of each session is thorough and constructive.

Most importantly though she is really happy there, bounces in and out and has lots of friends. She always tells me about about how much she loves the teachers and what activities she's been doing. I can't fault them and I was shocked and very disappointed for the staff with the Ofstead report, as we're a number of other parents.

[kfk101]

*were

[MamaC]

My daughter has been going to Elm Park since she was 8 months - she's now 3 1/2 and absolutely loves it. The staff are lovely, and there's a great, warm and nurturing amosphere plus a lovely big garden.

Six months previously they got a 'Good' rating, and think its genuinely a case of over bureaucratic, mostly over the top judgements, and that when they are re inspected in April, this will get reverted to 'Good' again.

[SusanP.]

Hi thank you for your replies, it is reassuring hearing from parents that send their child to elm park, I just read their report...
a few weeks ago I also went to see nightingale2 on weir road, it is montessori but it differs from elm park as it's a term time setting. They also had a good result from ofsted, and the room was very spacious, garden a let down though.
Elm park has a great garden and rooms, but I felt the staff at nightingale were warmer and children seemed attached and happy with the staff. it's hard to make a decision..

[Goldhawk]

Do you need full time all year care or just preschool sessions?

[SusanP.]

Mainly morning sessions only for now

[MamaC]

Staff are extremely friendly at EP and my daughter absolutely loves them. Always has. It is hard to get a proper sense from looking round I would say.

[smokingpinkgiraffe]

My son is currently in the upper school at Elm Park and has been there since the baby room. He is thriving. Both my daughters went there too and I believe it gave them the best start possible to their education. I was disappointed to read the Ofsted report and I don't believe it warrants the downgrade. The rooms are excellent, the new garden is amazing and the staff are engaged, professional, caring and nurturing and the best thing, that 5 years after my daughter left, my son is being looked after by the same lovely teacher. The staff are clearly happy there, there doesn't seem to be the turnover of staff that I have seen in the girls school. Hope that helps, I know its a tough decision turning over your precious beings to a nursery, but Elm Park came highly recommended to me and I can highly recommend it to you.

[SusanP.]

I have just found out about nightingale2 ofsted report on weir road, and apparently a child made an exit at their nursery and was found outside:(
thank you for your recommendations about elm park, feel much better knowing about your positive experiences and my little one is now enrolled starting after Easter.

[Leeanne Grassnick]

We had to take our 2-year-old out of Elm Park Nursery following an investigation which found that a staff member in his class was mishandling the children. The investigation was launched because of obvious adult hand marks on one child. Following further review of CCTV, various examples of mishandling children (e.g. dragging children across the floor by arm and hitting child on back of the head) were found. The staff member had been working there for at least 3 years. The staff member was dismissed, however, the nursery did not take appropriate measures to regain our trust. We were also present when a nursery child left the nursery on their own and was found wondering the streets. Regardless of this horrific incident, staffing and security issues remained and we didn't feel that our child's well-being was at the forefront. Issues kept arising and changes were not implemented (example finding 5-10 children alone with one staff member). What is also shocking is that we were raising concerns for six months and no one listened to us. Even calls to the safeguarding lead were not taken seriously. We are still absolutely traumatised by this incident and the poor management of the situation and nursery by Bright Stars Ltd and the council and police.