Rochdale nursery closes after critical Ofsted inspection
- Published
Channings Childcare on Whitehall Street in Rochdale has closed down
A nursery has closed after an education watchdog found it had put children at "risk of harm or injury".
Channings Childcare on Whitehall Street in Rochdale was graded as "inadequate", external after Ofsted discovered safeguarding failures during an inspection in March.
The company, which runs five other nurseries in Rochdale and Oldham, said it had closed the nursery and the building would now be sold.
It said the decision was made after "a challenging Ofsted inspection".
The firm denied there had been any safeguarding incidents, however, adding the report had used "ruinous language" to describe minor irregularities and reporting errors.
Ofsted inspectors visited the nursery, which was previously rated as "good", on 17 March.
They described arrangements for safeguarding as "not effective" while managers and leaders had "failed to recognise and report serious concerns about children".
'Failure to react'
Inspectors also found some staff were unaware of how to handle children appropriately, and the manager's failure to react promptly to this had put them "at risk of harm or injury".
While the report acknowledged the children enjoyed their time at the nursery, it noted the curriculum was "very general" and did not take into account all youngsters' individual needs.
A spokesman for Channings Childcare told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that following "a challenging Ofsted inspection and a devastating report" it had made the decision to close the nursery.
"With the help of the local authority, all the issues we were required to put right were completed but, with the issues we currently face with recruitment and absenteeism, we did not have the resources to develop further," the spokesman added.
"Many thanks to our parents who have been hugely supportive especially in their concerns for our staff."
Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, external, Twitter, external and Instagram, external? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk