BABIES are left at risk of choking in a ‘chaotic’ and ‘disorderly’ pre-school which has been slammed as inadequate in an official report.

Ofsted inspector Luke Heaney visited Little Bears playgroup in Orford on November 18 and detailed in the report a scene of chaos.

It was reported that staff were unaware of children eating food they had previously dropped on the floor and of babies stuffing paper in their mouths – creating a potential choking hazard.

“During breakfast time, some staff do not supervise children effectively.

“For example, some children walk around with toast in their hands; they drop it on the floor and pick it back up to eat.

“Additionally, babies put paper into their mouths, and staff do not notice this until leaders highlight the risk to staff.”

The report then went on to highlight the children’s ‘poor’ attitude towards learning, as well as their behaviour towards their own peers which was described as ‘unkind’.

“Staff are not astute to when children are unkind towards one another.

“Children's behaviour begins to deteriorate when they become bored.

“Staff fail to adapt their teaching practice to keep children engaged in their learning. These low expectations from staff fail each child who attends this setting.”

After observing the dynamics of the setting, it was then recognised that the curriculum being taught has been poorly designed and distributed to the children, with staff unable to deliver accurate expectations depending on the age of the child.

“Staff in the baby room expect babies to complete colouring sheets and to have a secure understanding of wildlife, such as squirrels.

“Staff working with older children simply expect them to paint a paper plate for Christmas.

“Leaders cannot explain the reason why children are doing these activities and do not know how this sequentially builds on what children already know and can do.”

Additionally, it was reported that risk assessments by staff were seen as ‘ineffective’ with the inspector having to identify tripping hazards to staff during the visit.

“Babies who are learning to walk are impeded, as resources on the floor hinder their balance and coordination skills.”

Hygiene and safeguarding were another cause for concern by the regulators who said that practices were ‘poor’ with children not being encouraged to wash their hands and leaders not keeping up with safeguarding procedures.

“Staff are trained in first aid and understand how to respond to accidents.

“They complete accident forms and share these with parents. Risk assessments are ineffective. For example, resources are strewn across the floor in all rooms.

“These pose a risk of tripping. Too often, babies fall over resources and staff are not aware of this.”

Inspector Heaney acknowledged that the manager of the play group is aware of a ‘decline’ in standards, with the pre-school previously being rated as ‘good’ by the regulators, and that staff aspire to ‘tackle’ the issues they are currently facing.

"The manager knows that standards have declined over time and that self-evaluation is inaccurate.

"During the inspection, leaders demonstrate a positive attitude to how they intend to tackle the number of shortfalls to bring about change. They aspire for the setting to be rated good."

The management at Little Bears were asked to comment on the outcome of the inspection but declined.