CHILDREN are being put at risk of harm by a Neston pre-school after a report found its safeguarding measures were inadequate.

The report done on October 8 showed that the Neston Pre-School Playgroup had fallen from an outstanding in May 2011 to inadequate.

According to the Ofsted report, the child minder had failed to follow safeguarding procedure correctly because they did not notice when visitors, who were not properly vetted, had unsupervised access to the children.

The report said: “Leaders and staff are not sufficiently vigilant in ensuring visitors to the setting do not have unsupervised access to children.

“For example, they failed to notice when a visitor took a child to the toilet. In addition, leaders have failed to obtain enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks for visitors who have this level of unsupervised access. This puts children at risk of harm. Safeguarding is not effective.

The pre-school did however gain merit in other aspects including quality of teaching, learning and assessment and outcomes for children.

The report added: "All staff have attended safeguarding training. They have an appropriate understanding should they have a concern about a child in their care.”

“Leaders and staff engage well with parents on a daily basis and take their views seriously. As a result, partnerships with parents are very positive.”

“Children’s physical abilities are developing well because leaders and staff provide a wide range of opportunities for children, for example, to practise balancing. Leaders and staff en-courage children to take small calculated risks in their play.”

A spokesman for the playgroup said: “The pre-school has met all the actions set by Ofsted after their recent inspection and we are confident that when Ofsted revisit in the next few months, our grade will return to a more accurate reflection of the quality of our pre-school.”

The report continued: "Leaders routinely monitor children's development and have an overview of the progress each child makes.

“This helps to identify any children requiring additional support. Leaders conduct regular supervision of staff and hold regular team meetings.

“A variety of training is available to support their professional development. As a result, leaders and staff support children's play well.

“Leaders and staff complete self-evaluation to identify areas for improvement to benefit children. Since the last inspection, they have developed secure links with local schools and other early years settings to promote continuity for children.”