Staff sacked after Apsley nursery is panned by Ofsted for '˜comprising children's safety'

Positive Steps in Apsley, based at Two Waters Methodist Church, was visited by government inspectors.

They found that “children’s safety is compromised” due to “numerous breaches of legal requirements” which have a “significant, negative impact on children’s welfare”.

There are not enough qualified staff, engagement with parents is “poor” and so is the teaching.

The report, which has been published online, said: “Despite there being a keypad entry system, it is not used securely to protect children’s overall safety.

“Children’s behaviour is not managed appropriately.

“Staff do not implement the behaviour management policy effectively.

“Ways of engaging parents in their children’s learning are poor. And staff do not record accidents promptly to ensure that all details are correctly shared with parents”.

A spokesman for the nursery said urgent changes were made in light of the inspection findings.

She said: “We respect the findings and content of the inspection report however we are extremely disappointed with this outcome.

“We are already taking action to address the points raised in the report and are making improvements.

“We have put a new management team in place at the nursery following the inspection and they are working to a Nursery Action Plan that will bring the nursery to the high standard parents and children expect.”

Lucy Stopps, the new Nursery Manager said” “We are passionate about delivering safe and high quality care for the children who attend the nursery.

“Our team is working very hard to improve the situation and we expect a very different outcome when OFSTED return.

“We pride ourselves on achieving high standards and we apologise for falling below the quality that parents and children expect of us on this occasion.”