Ofsted suspends preschool over fears of pupil harm

A preschool has been suspended for six weeks after Ofsted believed children may be exposed to a "risk of harm".

Blossoms Preschool and Children Centre on Queen Elizabeth Way in the Berechurch area of Colchester was suspended by the regulator on Monday.

Ofsted, which is in charge of inspecting educational providers, confirmed it had "reasonable cause" behind the decision.

A spokesperson for the preschool declined to comment while the investigation was ongoing, but said they trusted Ofsted in its work.

"I can confirm that we suspended Blossoms Preschool and Children's Centre on 13 January, because we had reasonable cause to believe children may be exposed to a risk of harm," a spokesperson for Ofsted said.

"We will monitor the suspension as set out in our guidance."

A six-week suspension notice has been served and parents of the preschool were sent letters from Ofsted explaining the decision, as first reported by Colchester Gazette.

The school's suspension is expected to end on 24 February.

Ofsted has the power to extend its suspension if it believed the risk of harm to children would continue.

It does also have the power to cancel a provider's registration should the risk of harm not be removed.

The preschool's last Ofsted inspection in April 2022 rated it as 'good' in all categories examined.

However in September 2023, the watchdog received "concerns" that the provider was not meeting some of its legal requirements around safeguarding and welfare.

It told the preschool it needed to ensure staff followed and implemented safeguarding policy and protected the privacy of children in their care.

As well as this it was told to ensure information about children was only available to those who had a right or professional need to see them.

In January 2024 Ofsted said it was "satisfied" the provider now met the safeguarding and welfare actions raised.

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