Nursery that put children at risk of harm closes

A nursery and creche found to have placed children "at risk of harm" by inspectors has closed its doors after saying it was unable to meet the urgent improvements required.

Ofsted inspectors visited K8Z Cheeky Monkeyz in Bootle, Merseyside, in May and criticised leaders for its safeguarding and also said staff references were not reviewed thoroughly or concerns followed up.

They said many children did not develop the expected language skills for their age or the social skills needed for school, while "unfocused" outdoor play left children to "wander without direction", sometimes resulting in destructive behaviour.

The nursery, which closed its doors before the report was published on Monday, said it was "heartbroken".

K8Z Cheeky Monkeyz looked after children aged up to four and had 80 places at the time of the inspection.

Leaders had not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that adequately protects children from harm, the report said.

Ofsted found not all staff had complete references, inconsistencies in application forms, employment history gaps not being thoroughly explored, while checks were not in place to decide whether the people looking after the children were suitable, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The report added: "This places children at risk of harm."

Inspectors also said leaders failed to ensure risk assessments were thorough enough.

Ofsted added that outdoor play was "unplanned and unfocused, leaving children to wander without direction", sometimes resulting in destructive behaviour.

The inspectors did find that babies benefited from "warm interactions with staff, babbling happily and taking part in song and rhyme times".

However, older children had limited opportunities to learn new skills, Ofsted stated, as they were not guided or supported to prepare for the next stage in their education.

The report also said leaders were not delivering plans to assist those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Inspectors said leaders did recognise the importance of attendance and would contact parents when their children were missing scheduled sessions.

A K8Z Cheeky Monkeyz representative said: "Unfortunately, due to not having our own team due to long-term sickness and crisis in early years recruitment and having to rely heavily on agency, this put immense pressure on us and our team.

"Sadly we weren't able to meet all the Ofsted requirements, no matter how hard we tried and the lengths we went to.

"I'm absolutely heartbroken and devastated it has come to this."

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