A nursery in Ilford has been told by Ofsted it Requires Improvement.

The director of Tamba Day Nursery, in Mansfield Road, said she was "extremely disappointed" with the judgement, but improvements were already being made in the areas identified during the inspection.

The nursery, previously rated Good, was visited by Ofsted on May 31.

Joanna Wilkinson, Ofsted inspector, said: "Teaching is variable across the setting. Some staff have a limited understanding of the learning and development requirements and how to implement them to extend children's learning and ensure that children are challenged sufficiently well. This has an impact on children's progress."

In her report, Ms Wilkinson added: "Some staff in the pre-school room lack sufficient skills to manage children's challenging behaviour effectively.

"Strategies adopted are not consistently followed by all staff, leaving children unable to develop a consistent understanding of the expectations of positive behaviour."

But she said staff are friendly, caring and approachable, commenting that they provide a "welcoming and well-resourced learning environment".

Staff also promote children's language and communication skills well, and help children who speak English as an additional language communicate their needs and interests by signing with their hands, and teaching them new words.

Sheila Poinoosawmy, nursery director, said: "We are extremely disappointed with the Requires Improvement judgement we have received.

"We do not believe that this is a true reflection of the hard work, dedication and commitment the staff at our nursery puts into the running of Tamba.

"However, we have taken the feedback on board and are thriving to make improvements to ensure that children are meeting their full potential.

"The actions addressed in the report have already been identified by the management team and actions were already in place during the inspection. However, in order for these actions to have an impact it takes time to embed these consistently.

"It is now our aim to support of staff and ensure they are confident and have the skills required to fulfil their roles and responsibilities.

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank our parents for their positive feedback during the inspection and to thank our dedicated team in all their handwork and commitment."