Staff at a Suffolk nursery in Petistree near Woodbridge have said they are “devastated” after Ofsted inspectors rated it ‘inadequate’.

Debbie Hayward, proprietor at Presmere Day Nursery, "strongly disputes" the outcome of an inspection carried out in July.

During a visit on July 16, the inspector found "serious weaknesses" with the security of the premises - putting both children and staff at "unnecessary risk".

"The management team has failed to recognise that security is not robust enough to prevent children from leaving the premises unsupervised or to prevent unauthorised persons from entering," the report said.

"Members of the public and visitors are able to access the premises before practitioners can establish their identity and purpose for visiting. This puts both practitioners and children at unnecessary risk."

However, Mrs Hayward has expressed her concerns at the rating.

She said: "I am absolutely devastated about the judgement of inadequate for Presmere as a result of our recent Ofsted inspection.

"I strongly dispute the outcome and have a complaint lodged with Ofsted to this effect. I wish to reassure all my current and prospective parents that they have nothing to worry about and I am very hopeful that the decision will be overturned.

"Since informing the parents at the nursery on Tuesday, I have in fact had nothing but overwhelming support and good wishes.

"They are all as upset by this, as my amazing team and I are.

"The system currently in place does not support us as educational practitioners, we aim to actively work with Ofsted to ensure cases like this are treated more effectively in the future."

The nursery was previously rated 'good' after an inspection in 2015. This time around, it was rated 'good' for quality of teaching, learning and assessment and outcomes for children - but was considered 'inadequate' for effectiveness of leadership and management, alongside personal development, behaviour and welfare.

In the resulting Ofsted report, the inspector added: "Despite this, children show that they feel safe. Staff do know the signs that a child is at risk of harm, and the importance of sharing their concerns with relevant agencies."

Parents share their views

Emma Plant, whose son is enrolled at the nursery, was among several parents to come out in support of it.

She said: "I am actually quite upset for them about their recent Ofsted.

"I don't think it is a true reflection of how the children are looked after there.

"One of the things I like about the nursery is that it's not all locked up and like a prison to get into.

"I feel really sad for them because they don't deserve this rating.

"My son is currently in the process of being diagnosed with autism, they have been so supportive - they have gone above and beyond."

Meanwhile Paul Davies, who also has a son at the nursery, added: "I really want to come out in support of Presmere.

"Our son is three-and-a-half but he's more like a five-year-old, he's come on leaps and bounds since being there.

"I'm surprised about the security concern, because I struggle getting into the nursery, so I'm not quite sure how inspectors have come to that conclusion."

An Ofsted spokesman said the organisation judged the nursery to be inadequate for the reasons that are set out clearly in the inspection report.

He added: "We take all complaints about our inspections very seriously, and will investigate concerns thoroughly and respond to them as quickly as possible.

"You can find the full details of our complaints procedure online."