MUMS whose children attend a Taunton preschool slammed by inspectors have hit out in defence of the facility. 

West Monkton Preschool, based at West Monkton Village Hall in Monkton Heathfield, was rated ‘inadequate’ by inspectors after it found that staff “intimidated” children. 

The governing body visited the school on January 19 to carry out the inspection and the report was published on February 17.

Now, the preschool committee and parents of children at the school have marked the inspection down to a “radical” change in staff and says issues raised have been addressed.

Ofsted rates schools in four different areas including effectiveness of the leadership and management and quality of teaching. The preschool received an ‘inadequate’ rating in all areas. 

The report said: “Although the manager recognises that some staff intimidate children, and other staff have also raised concerns about this, the provider and manager have failed to implement the setting’s safeguarding policy to protect children. This compromises children’s emotional well-being. The provider fails to ensure that staff manage children’s behaviour appropriately. Some staff threaten children with punishment and exclude them from activities.”

The report did identify one strength in the staff’s ability in developing the children’s understanding of the world.

The preschool says all employees are now “well established” after the change. 

Somerset County Gazette:

Susie Thomas, a mum whose daughter attends the preschool, said: “The preschool has undergone a radical staff turnover due to almost all of its long serving staff members, including the manager and deputy manager, leaving.

“My daughter attends the preschool and before her my son did. I have been involved with fundraising for the preschool for the past five years and I feel very passionate about it. It’s a small charity and it needs the support of the local community. I have no issues with safeguarding, no concerns whatsoever. I have nothing but absolute faith that the preschool will improve their Ofsted grade dramatically on their next visit.”

Marie Hill wrote on the County Gazette Facebook page: “This makes me really angry, my boy goes here and is in his second year, he absolutely loves it and all the staff are lovely.”

A spokesman for the preschool committee said: “We are very disappointed with the recent Ofsted report as we feel it does not accurately reflect our preschool. The Ofsted visit was in light of a significant change of staffing for our setting. All staff are now well established and settled in our preschool.

“Every point of action from the Ofsted report has already been addressed, and we are looking forward to Ofsted visiting again soon, and hopefully they will see a vibrant community of learning through fun, and that our children are happy, safe and supported on their journey through learning.

“We will be holding an open morning every Monday between 10am and 11am for parents and children to see our learning in action.”

To read the full report visit reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/care/143078.