Parkgate nursery shut down by Ofsted for six weeks

A NURSERY has been temporarily shut down by Government inspectors after concerns were raised about its ability to keep children safe – just days after police were called to the site

Flutterbies on Stone Row Way, Parkgate, was informed by Ofsted on Wednesday (February 21) that its licence would be temporarily suspended for six weeks.

Police were called to the nursery on Monday after an “altercation” between two people.

An Ofsted spokeswoman said: “We have suspended the registration of the nursery as we have concerns regarding the provider’s suitability and ability to keep children safe. 

“We are looking into these concerns to ensure that children’s welfare is protected and we will regularly review the suspension.”

One of the Flutterbies’ owners told the Advertiser he was unaware of the “specific reason” behind the closure but “speculated” it could be due to the police incident. 

The owner added: “My understanding is a letter has been handed in to the manager (from Ofsted) with further details on it, but I have not been privy to that information because I am not the named person.”

He said he intended to ask for the suspension period to be reviewed “because the information we have, in our view, does not seem to be of something that warrants a six-week suspension.”

If any issues were uncovered by inspectors the nursery would work with Ofsted to correct them, he said, and staff would be paid as normal during the closure.

A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said officers were called to a premise on Stone Row Way following reports of a verbal altercation between a man and a woman on Monday (February 19) at 1pm.

She added: “Officers who attended spoke to those involved, neither of whom were injured, and no further action is to be taken.”

The nursery was last rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in October 2016 when it had 70 children aged one to four on its roll under the management of Emma Battersby.