A nursery in the Ribble Valley has gone from 'good' to 'inadequate' in its most recent Ofsted rating.

St Wilfrid's Nursery, on St. Wilfrids Terrace in Longridge, was inspected by Ofsted on April 30.

A report published on May 31 stated that the nursery's 'overall effectiveness' had been rated 'inadequate', two levels below their last rating of 'good' in 2018.

Specifically, the nursery's 'personal development' and 'leadership and management' was rated inadequate, and their 'quality of education' and 'behaviour and attitudes' was rated 'requires improvement'.

The Ofsted report said: "The provider has failed to ensure that they are meeting all of the statutory requirements.

"There are some breaches that have impacted on the safeguarding and welfare of children. The provider has not ensured that they have sufficient oversight of the nursery.

"Managers and staff do not have adequate knowledge of how to keep children safe. The provider has not ensured that safeguarding policies and procedures are in line with local safeguarding partnerships guidance and procedures.

"They have also not ensured that safeguarding training is effective. Therefore, managers and staff are not always clear on the procedures to follow should they have concerns about the welfare of children."

In their last inspection in 2018, the nursery received a 'good' rating in all aspects, with the report stating "managers and leaders are ambitious for the success of the nursery. They share a clear and focused vision, 'to ensure that children are happy and have the best possible start in life'. Children are well equipped with the skills they require for their move on to school."

Providers who receive an 'inadequate' Ofsted rating, the lowest possible judgement out of four grades, will receive re-inspection monitoring visits and then a full inspection within 15 months.

John McHugh, director at St Wilfrid's, said: "We acknowledge the findings of the inspection report.

"We have already made noticeable progress to all the areas identified for improvement and are confident that our next inspection (within six months) will validate this. 

"We are also really pleased that the report highlights many of our strengths such as - managers and staff work with parents to support children to settle quickly into nursery; staff support children to develop an awareness of the community that they live in; staff support children's communication and language, and they read familiar stories and children recall key events and join in with repeated phrases. 

"Parents have been kept fully informed of the inspectors' report as our committed St Wilfrid’s Nursery team continues to work tirelessly to provide the best possible care and education that we can for our children."