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Little Chasers Day Nursery in Cannock is criticised in Ofsted report

A nursery which has not been 'assuring' children's safety has been criticised by inspectors.

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Ofsted has rated Little Chasers Day Nursery on St John's Road as 'inadequate'.

Among a catalogue of failings, inspectors said the welfare and safety of the children was 'not assured', while the nappy changing and toilet facilities were 'not suitable, safe or hygienic'.

The nursery, which looks after 54 children aged between 0 and five, has been issued with a welfare requirements notice meaning it will be prosecuted should it not improve upon re-inspection.

On top of the concerns raised about safety and the changing and toilet facilities, the report released this month after the inspection in July read: "The opportunities provided to promote the children's physical development are inadequate. Children do not have access to outdoor activities and staff do not plan daily outdoor and indoor experiences to help build on the children's physical skills.

"Not all staff meet the individual care needs of children well enough. They do not always ensure their nappies are changed according to their needs, in order to secure good health.

"The quality of teaching is inconsistent and on occasions inadequate. Some areas of learning are not effectively promoted. Parents are not all kept up to date with information about their children's progress and development.

"The leadership and management team are ineffective and the systems to manage staff underperformance are not robust enough. In addition, a written record of complaints made by parents and their outcome is not maintained."

However, despite the string of concerns, the nursery was praised for providing freshly prepared, healthy and nutritious meals.

In response to the report, the nursery released a statement saying: "Some safeguarding issues raised were with building itself, however these very issues were items that were passed by one of Ofsted's own inspectors only 6 months ago when we moved here.

"The manager was not present on the day of inspection to challenge these points. She has since notified Ofsted in writing some of the factual inaccuracies in the report.

"We have immediately completed all actions set by Ofsted and gone above and beyond those actions to add our own to ensure nursery is the best it can be. We have contacted Ofsted and have requested a re-inspection at their earliest convenience.

"We sincerely apologise to any of our nursery families that feel we have let them down but want to assure everyone that all systems have been reviewed and in place with robust structure and we look forward to the next inspection very soon."

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