NURSERY leaders have said they are ‘genuinely sorry’ for failures that saw Ofsted brand their provision ‘inadequate.’

Ladygrove Day Nursery and Nursery School in Didcot has issued a statement following the report, and stressed that work has already been done to rectify the concerns raised.

The 125-child nursery fell from a rating of ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’ in all areas, following an inspection on July 30.

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Lisa Rowland, regional director of Busy Bees, the chain that runs the nursery, said: “We are already making significant improvements towards achieving a better result and we expect a very different outcome when Ofsted return.

“We pride ourselves on achieving high standards and we are genuinely sorry for falling below the quality that parents and children expect of us on this occasion.”

A further statement from Busy Bees added: “We respect the findings and content of the inspection report, however, we are extremely disappointed with this outcome.”

Ofsted raised issue with gaps in certain safeguarding knowledge and with ‘poor teaching’ in some areas, and criticised management for ‘not tackling weaknesses in practice.’

The nursery, which opened in 1998, had previously been rated ‘good’ in 2015.

This was its first inspection since being taken over by Busy Bees in 2017.

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Ms Rowland said: “Delivering safe and high-quality care for the children who attend our nursery is our top priority and something we are passionate about.

“Although it was a disappointing outcome, the issues can and are being quickly rectified, and my team is working very hard to improve the situation, tackling the points raised during the inspection.”

She added: “We have a phenomenal amount of support from our parents at the nursery, who see first-hand every day the professional quality and efforts of the staff team.”

Many Oxford Mail readers, whose children attend or had attended the nursery, jumped to its defence after reading our coverage of the inspection.

Commenting on Facebook, one mother told us: “I have never had concerns - this is a very unfair representation by Ofsted.”

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Another reader added: “I hope people realise that this is just a tiny snapshot and doesn’t give the whole picture in any way.

“The staff are professional and friendly and in no way are the children unsafe.”

One woman posted on Facebook: "I had both [my children] there. Yes, at times it was a stretch, but I cannot fault them at all."

The statement from Busy Bees added: “The nursery team have responded positively and are committed to improving standards.

“We are already making progress and the nursery is receiving support from experienced Busy Bees childcare practitioners as they implement their action plan.

“The local authority is very happy with our plans and progress.”