Little Ducklings Pre-School slated by ‘bonkers’ Ofsted for failing to spot if kids aged two to four might become jihadis
Parents said the Ofsted review, which stripped the nursery of its 'outstanding' rating, was 'bonkers' and nanny state nonsense
A NURSERY was slated by inspectors for failing to spot if its kids aged from two to four might become jihadis.
Parents said the swipe at Little Ducklings Pre-School was the nanny state gone mad.
A mum with a son at the nursery in middle-class Hove, East Sussex, said: “This is bonkers.
“Of course it’s good to stop children being radicalised, but Little Ducklings hardly strikes you as a hotbed for international terrorism.” All schools, even those with toddlers, have a legal duty to identify kids who may be vulnerable to radicalisation.
The nursery was stripped of its previous “outstanding” rating — even though Ofsted inspectors noted that the children were “happy and settled”.
They reported: “Not all staff have a secure understanding of how to protect children who may be at risk from extreme behaviour or views.”
Parents called the conclusion “ludicrous”. Mum Kelly Griffin said: “This all seems silly. How are you going to know if a three-year-old is being radicalised?”
Another mum said: “Let kids be kids”.
And a dad with a son aged four at the nursery, said: “There’s too much interference by the Government these days.”
Local Tory councillor Dawn Barnett said: “It’s madness gone to the extreme It’s a lovely nursery — this is crazy.”
A spokeswoman from the pre-school’s management committee said they were disappointed with Ofsted’s verdict.
Little Ducklings, which can take up to 24 kids at a time, was downgraded to “requires improvement” and has until September to update staff training.
An Ofsted spokesperson said: “The inspection of Little Ducklings Pre-School found a number of failings.
"This included variable quality of teaching, a failure to make sure all children made the progress they were capable of, and too few opportunities to develop children’s writing. Children’s early education is crucial for future success, that’s why where pre-schools are failing to teach children well it is Ofsted’s duty to highlight it.
"The report makes absolutely no mention of radicalisation or jihadis, but instead notes, as one point for improvement among many, that staff did not understand how to protect young children at risk of extreme behaviours or views.
"This is something that pre-schools are legally required to do and is something which we can all agree is vitally important.”
Ofsted also criticised a “variable” quality of teaching and lack of support for kids who speak English as a second language.
A 2011 census found the most spoken language in Brighton and Hove after English was Arabic — with 0.8 per cent of residents using it.
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