By Lev Lourie

A NURSERY has been labelled inadequate by Ofsted.

Explorers Day Nursery in Nursling, which has 121 children on the roll, was given the lowest overall rating following an inspection.

It had previously been rated good.

Inspector Elaine Douglas, described the nursery’s leadership and management and the personal development, behaviour and welfare of the children as inadequate.

She rated the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and the outcomes for children as requiring improvement.

In relation to the nursery’s leadership and management, Ofsted said: “The provider does not meet the requirement to provide sufficient space for two-year-old children.”

The report added that parents have had concerns about the number of children in one room, but the manager Kim Pearson decided to follow “staff’s preference” to leave the organisation of the premises as they were.

The report said that staff failed to use risk assessments effectively to “keep children safe in the toddler room”.

One strength highlighted in the report was that children and babies in the pre-school room had good care and learning experiences.

Following the inspection in December the inspector issued an urgent action plan for the nursery including ensuring the two-year-old children had more indoor space and raising the quality of their teaching and learning experiences.

Explorers Day Nursery opened in Adanac Drive in 2010 and is part of the Little Shipmates group, which runs four other day nurseries in Hampshire and one pre-school.

Explorers Day Nursery said in a statement: “The inadequate judgement was based largely on the inspector’s findings of the way in which the toddler room at Explorers was being used. Immediate action was taken to address the issues raised and staff are continuing to implement improvements to drive up standards at the nursery. The staff would like to thank the parents of the children who attend Explorers for their understanding and continued support.”