A NURSERY that has had three official complaints against it in the past five years has been ordered to improve by Ofsted.

Inspectors turned up for a surprise visit to Busy Nought to Fives Great Sankey after they received an anonymous letter of concern about children’s safety on July 7.

Ofsted found youngsters are safe and there are enough employees at the Billington Close nursery, but recent staff changes at the centre have caused issues.

Inspector Angela Rowley said: “The nursery has been through an unsettled time. This has had a negative impact on the quality of experience for children.

“Changes to staff has caused some instability and some inconsistency, and the previous good quality has not been sustained.

“Pre-school children sometimes spend too long sitting in large groups.”

However Ms Rowley praised the new manager for identifying problems and said she has begun to make ‘well-considered’ changes.

She added: “Despite the number of staff changes some children experienced, they explore happily and interact with adults they are familiar with.

“They are provided with some interesting play experiences.”

A spokesman for Busy Nought to Fives, which was rated requiring improvement, said: “During the inspection, there was no evidence of any issues other than, due to a number of new staff, it was found that the key-person system was not fully effective.”

“However, it was also found that ratios were met, staff were adequately deployed and children were appropriately supervised.

“In addition to this, Ofsted found that risk assessment procedures were suitable and appropriate measures were in place to help keep children safe.”

The nursery was rated as requiring improvement. Read the full report at reports.ofsted.gov.uk.