Chaotic’ nursery told to urgently improve after toddlers found to be soiling themselves due to a lack of routine

Bright Horizons Hinckley Day Nursery and Preschool, on Wheatfield Way in Hinckley, has been rapped by Ofsted after it was told to urgently improve the way it looks after child welfare and its leadership.

During the inspection, which took place on August 10, inspectors Charmaine Cayton and Claire Muddimer found that babies were walking around with food in their mouths.

It said that staff were not intervening when items like sliced lemons were dropped on the floor, then put back into their mouths.

When this was raised with leaders at Bright Horizons, the report found that “children continued to walk around with food in their mouths,” and staff failed to step in effectively.

Toddlers were also handed pencils by staff as musical instruments, but they failed to stop them from chewing them, the report says.

Sleeping mats were also being left in walkways, which inspectors say could have been “potential trip hazards”. As a result, Ofsted said this showed “weaknesses in staff awareness of environmental risks and their ability to take appropriate action to maintain children’s safety”.

Inspectors noted that children’s safety at Bright Horizons was being “compromised”, and staff showed a “limited understanding” of how to support young children in settling effectively.

Major leadership concerns were also raised with the nursery after staff recruitment was found to be “compromising children’s safety” because checks did not follow safer recruitment procedures.

Ofsted noted that these concerns were also brought up in a previous visit while bosses at the nursery did not have sufficient procedures for managing allegations against staff – and failed to previously investigate concerns.

The visit also uncovered “weaknesses in the curriculum” that meant children didn’t “consistently receive learning opportunities that support their progress,” and that toddlers “frequently experience toileting accidents” due to not “understand[ing] the importance of good hygiene practices”.

Inspectors also found that the nursery’s environment can become “chaotic” and children’s behaviour was “not always effectively managed”.

Despite the concerns, they found children’s communication and language was “developing well” and were gaining “positive experiences” from the staff and environment.

Parents also shared positive feedback about their children’s time at nursery and receive daily feedback on their children’s care routines, with nursery and preschool bosses working closely with them.

Inspectors soon issued a Welfare Requirement Notice to the nursery, requiring it to address trip-hazard concerns, provide staff and leaders with appropriate training, and implement an “ambitious” curriculum by September 9.

However, this isn’t the first time it has been issued with a similar notice, as Ofsted said a “serious safeguarding incident” in September 2025 led to a similar notice being issued over “significant weaknesses in organisational safeguarding leadership, governance, oversight and practice”.

A spokesperson for Bright Horizons said:

“Our priority, as always, is the wellbeing, safety and education of children in our care. We take all feedback from Ofsted extremely seriously and are working closely with them to address the concerns raised and ensure high standards are embedded consistently across the nursery.

“We have taken immediate action to address every area identified in the report, including staff retraining and strengthened oversight practices, and remain in contact with our families to answer any questions they have about their child’s care.

“We are confident that these improvements are already having a positive impact in the nursery and will help us consistently deliver the quality of care our families rightly expect.”