CHILDREN are not safe at an historic preparatory school's nursery according to an inspection report which has been labelled unacceptable by the headmaster.

Ofsted inspectors visited Holmwood House School Nursey in Coach Road, Great Horkesley, in January and have handed the pre-school an overall rating of inadequate - the lowest of the four possible.

The damning report said safeguarding procedures were not being followed meaning the safety of the children could be at risk.

It said: "Staff fail to take swift action to safeguard children.

"Training provided to staff on how to respond to child protection issues has been ineffective.

"Children are not safe.

"The provider has not notified Ofsted of significant events that effect the suitability of staff and has a poor understanding of when to notify Ofsted of such concerns.

"The provider has not followed safeguarding board procedures and did not take appropriate action following concerns about the suitability of staff.

"The supervision of the management and staff is not effective.

"They do not ensure staff are capable and confident to carry out their roles, with particular regard to child safeguarding issues."

The nursery, which charges parents up to £1,000 every term for one day per week, was praised for their work with disabled children and providing a stimulating environment from them to learn.

They were rated good for quality of teaching, learning and assessment and outcomes for children but inadequate for effectiveness of leadership and management and personal development, behaviour and welfare giving them an overall rating of inadequate.

Ofsted inspectors visited the school in November, ahead of the January inspection, after concerns were raised about child safeguarding and found staff had failed to report previous issues.

They issued a welfare requirement notice which said the nursery had to comply with a number of requirements, but they had not improved by the time a full inspection was carried out in January.

A previous Ofsted care inspection report had rated the nursery as outstanding and they had been given the same mark by the Indepedent Schools Inspectorate in 2015

Headmaster Alexander Mitchell apologised for the findings and said changes were being made to ensure improvements were made in the near future.

He said: “The outcome of the Ofsted inspection at the Nursery is unacceptable.

"The inspection took place in January and we have now put in place an urgent and robust review of our processes and procedures, including additional staff training, to ensure that we now meet current regulatory requirements in these important areas.

"We are sorry this has been necessary to do.

"Ofsted will visit the nursery again after Easter to confirm that we have rectified the deficiencies.

“The nursery, like Holmwood House School, prides itself on its breadth of education, nurturing environment and dedicated teaching community, enabling each and every young pupil to thrive and achieve.”

Last week it was revealed the school's owners PFC Education LLP were in talks to sell the school and nursery to Bellevue Education.