A BACUP nursery has been blasted by government inspectors who labelled it inadequate - just three months after it was said to be good.

An Ofsted visit to Blossoms Private Day Nursery, in Vale Street, found that staff ratios were not being met, workers had ‘insufficient knowledge’ of education frameworks and records were not available for inspection.

Inspector Linda Shore issued the nursery with a Welfare Requirements Notice calling for better staffing.

The private nursery, owned and managed by Dr Jacqueline Williams, employs 10 staff to look after 68 youngsters.

The Early Years Register inspection took place in October but a detailed report has only just been published.

The report said: “The inspection took place after concerns were raised with Ofsted about the monitoring of suitability of staff to work with children and that adult to child ratios are not being met.

“The inspection found that there are breaches in both of these areas. Staff ratios were not met when the inspector arrived at the setting and, despite a member of staff being brought in from the sister setting, the pre-school room remained understaffed through most of the day.

“Scrutiny of sampled records shows ratios have not always been met in the past, with instances of the setting being at least two staff members down.

“The setting has received previous actions regarding meeting adult to child ratios indicating that this is an ongoing concern. This does not keep children safe or support their learning and development.”

A follow-up visit in November found that nursery bosses were ‘making satisfactory improvement overall’ following the October inspection.

In July, Blossoms was praised by Ofsted for its ‘strong partnership working with parents and other professionals’ and ‘a varied curriculum which motivates children and engages them in active learning’.

Nobody from the nursery, or its sister venue in Walsden, near Todmorden, was available for comment.