Ofsted has raised serious concerns about children's safety at Good Shepherd Day Nursery in Romford, East London, after an inspection found that staff are not equipped to handle medical emergencies such as a child choking. The watchdog warned that children's welfare 'cannot be assured if an emergency first-aid situation were to occur.'
Inspection reveals critical gaps in first-aid training
The inspection, conducted on April 27, 2026, found that while the nursery met expected standards in three of five assessment areas—achievement; behaviour and attitudes; establishing routines, curriculum, and teaching; and inclusion—urgent improvements were needed in 'children's welfare and wellbeing' and 'leadership and governance.' Ofsted concluded that leaders 'fail to ensure there is always a member of staff on site who is fully trained to deal with any first-aid emergencies that may arise, such as a child choking,' adding that this 'does not assure children's welfare.'
Leadership failures and non-compliance
In the leadership and governance category, the report stated: 'Leaders have failed to comply with early years requirements. They have not acted on advice given from other professionals, such as the local authority, to tackle areas that have been identified for improvement.' Specifically, they had not addressed issues related to staff deployment to ensure that someone working with children is fully qualified to give paediatric first-aid treatment in an emergency.
Ofsted issued an action requiring compliance by May 29, 2026, mandating that at least one staff member on site must hold a 'full and relevant paediatric first-aid qualification at all times.' The report noted that 'children's safety and well-being is not consistently prioritised.'
Children 'happy and well settled' despite concerns
Despite the urgent improvement notice, the report acknowledged that children are 'happy and well settled' when they arrive at nursery and that their education meets the required standard. However, the non-compliance with first-aid requirements remains a significant risk.
Good Shepherd Day Nursery did not respond to requests for comment by MyLondon.
