A NURSERY has been ordered to improve after some services were found not to be up to scratch.

Ofsted inspectors visited Mallards Wood Daycare & Preschool centre in Woodford Green last month.

The nursery in St Barnabas Road has been looking after youngsters in the area since 2002 and was rated “good” by the education watchdog when it was last inspected in 2013.

But a report of its latest review published today (June 6) has seen its Ofsted rating downgraded to “requires improvement”.

After speaking to staff, inspectors claim the quality of teaching at Mallards Wood is “not consistently strong” and staff do not always interact enough with babies and children whose first language is not English.

The report reads: “Some adults do not recognise opportunities to support children's language and communication skills.

“Adults in the baby room do not consistently make the most of learning opportunities, for example, some adults do not routinely interact and enhance their relationships with babies during nappy changing.”

Inspectors watched the children planting things outside and noted staff did not always talk to them about what they were doing to help them learn new words.

Teachers were also criticised for not encouraging everyone to take part in large group activities, and further concerns were raised about children being allowed to eat food they might be allergic to.

But inspectors were complimentary of several other parts of the nursery, saying children settle in quickly and are happy to see their friends and teachers when they arrive.

They also praised staff’s close relationship with parents, noting they “regularly seek their views to help drive improvement”.

Ofsted listed several points Mallards Wood needs to improve on in the next month, with another check-up due on July 7.

In a statement a spokesman for the nursery said: “We are working with Ofsted and the local authority to review the findings of the report.”