Timperley Village Day Nursery's disappointment at Ofsted's order to improve

Inspectors from Ofsted visited Timperley Village Day Nursery on Stockport Road in September.

Around a month later, in a report published in October, the nursery for 55 children was given an overall rating of 'requires improvement'.

Inspectors raised a number of positives, including the confidence and independence of the children, as well as the relationship between the staff and the parents.

But the negatives included a gate which was left unlocked, which might have allowed children to get out or 'unauthorised adults' to get in.

The report said: "On the day of the inspection, the inspector identified that the staff had not followed their procedures to check the external gate to the outdoor area was secure before children went out to play.

"This meant children could have left the premises unsupervised and unauthorised people could have gained access. The manager took immediate action to make the area secure and remove the risk to children."

Asked by The Messenger for a response to the report, a spokesperson for Timperley Village Day Nursery said it was not an accurate reflection of the circumstances.

They said the gate was left unlocked to allow parents access to the outside area while coronavirus restrictions stop access to the inside area.

They said: "We were very disappointed with the grade we received.

"The gate is secured using a latch at a high level and also a bolt.

"Whilst the gate was closed and on the latch so children could not open the gate, the bolt was not slid across as the staff member was letting parents onto the premises to drop their children off due to not being allowed inside the premises due to coronavirus restrictions.

"We are extremely upset at how the report read. The children in our care are not able to leave the premises unattended as suggested.

"It was all a very unfortunate set of circumstances which lead to this situation arising," they added.