A NURSERY says it will challenge the results of an inspection that saw it downgraded from “good” to “inadequate” based on safeguarding issues.

Ofsted inspectors visited Wilsden Village Nursery in July and have just released their findings.

They found managers did not always respond to child safety concerns “in a timely and appropriate way”, that leadership was poor and “children are not always dependably safeguarded”.

However, the voluntary committee that runs the nursery has already challenged the report.

The inspection came about when Cheryl Dibbin contacted Ofsted after her son Nico, four, who attended the nursery last year, told her he had been grabbed by the wrist by a member of staff after throwing a cup. She contacted the watchdog because she felt the nursery had failed to properly handle her complaints.

The report found the nursery, based at the village hall, had breached safeguarding requirements in dealing with the issue.

Shortly before the end of the summer term, Mrs Dibbin was told Nico would not be allowed back at the nursery for the rest of the term because his family had “breached confidentiality”.

On her complaint, the report says: “Management had failed to respond to this allegation immediately. The appropriate authorities were not informed in a timely fashion. The nursery has a clear safeguarding policy and procedure in place, however this was not implemented effectively on this occasion.”

It also says: “Arrangements for safeguarding children are insufficient. This is a result of staffs' weak knowledge of child protection and procedures to safeguard children.”

However it also says the premises were kept safe, children were supported well, and the majority of parents were happy.

Mrs Dibbin, who had received criticism from some members of the public for contacting Ofsted, feels the report vindicated her decision: “I think this is terrible for a nursery that has been operating that long. Things like child safeguarding are the basics.”

Ofsted says to improve, the nursery has to make sure staff, including management, have up-to-date safeguarding knowledge so they can respond in a timely way to child safety concerns.

A spokesman for the nursery said: “We are challenging the report and the outcomes, therefore it would be inappropriate for us to comment further during the complaints process. We remain committed to providing high-quality education and care for all of our children.”