A Trowbridge nursery that was given a notice to close will shut its doors 'for the final time', despite efforts to save it.
Steps Ahead, on Bradley Road, was given until Friday, February 14, to take a number of actions by inspection body Ofsted.
Now, the director of the nursery has confirmed it will close its doors on Friday, February 28.
Confirmation of the nursery’s imminent closure comes after inspectors rated it ‘inadequate’ in October last year.
READ MORE: Steps Ahead Day Nursery in Trowbridge under closure threat
An Ofsted report published on Monday, January 27 states inspectors visited the nursery on Tuesday, December 17 and Wednesday, January 8 to gather evidence following concerns.
A welfare requirements notice was issued, which is a legal notice requiring the provider to take actions within a timescale.
A report states: “Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) remains inconsistent at best but, for some children, support is poor.”
On a final visit a report includes: “Due to the continued breaches in requirements, and the provider's lack of capacity to make the necessary improvement, we are now taking steps to cancel the provider's registration.”
The head of the nursery, Janine Collishaw, said she had been left with “little choice but to close”, but added that did not mean she accepted the decision.
She said: “The combined pressure of Ofsted and the Local Authority on an individual and small business are overpowering and devastating.”
Although she acknowledged that there had been issues, she said that she feels the nursery was “scapegoated” for “failings” by both Wiltshire Council and Ofsted.
She said: “It seems to me that the ‘punishment does not fit the crime’ and perhaps the nursery is a scapegoat for failings within their own organisations.”
Ms Collishaw concluded: “I am proud of the service that Steps Ahead has given to the Trowbridge community over the past 25 years.
“It has been an honour and a privilege caring for and educating so many young children in this time. It is lovely to see our children from over the years, progressing to achieve so much.
“We will continue to ensure your children are happy and safe until our final hour. “
Once the notice of closure had been issued to the nursery, an online petition to save it from closure received more than a thousand signatures.
At the beginning of February, dozens of parents took part in a public protest on the steps of County Hall in Trowbridge.
SEE ALSO: Steps Ahead Nursery parents protest closure threat in Trowbridge
Responding to an enquiry by the Times, Wiltshire Council’s Cllr Laura Mayes, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “When Ofsted raised concerns last year, we offered to work closely with the nursery to help them to address these and support them so they could continue to operate.
“Despite our support and guidance to the nursery on what actions they needed to take, Ofsted started the process to cancel the registration. It’s important to say this is not an action they take lightly.
“We know how hard it is for parents when a nursery closes so we offered to work with Steps Ahead to help them find a new provider to take over the business
“We agreed to fund the children until any sale had been completed so they could stay at Steps Ahead if they wished meaning there would be no breaks in their childcare.
“However, Steps Ahead advised they had already started a redundancy process for staff and asked parents to look for alternative childcare.
“Currently we remain ready to support Steps Ahead if they wish to find another provider. We will continue to work with parents to help, where possible, to find alternative childcare.
“Whilst we cannot comment on specific cases, it is important to note that the local authority and other professionals can only offer support when they are made aware that a child with additional needs is attending an Early Years setting and appropriate referrals to those services have been made.
“The local authority will then assign actions for a nursery to carry out in order to meet the specific needs of children.
“It is the early years provider’s responsibility to ensure that these actions are carried out and implemented.”
Ofsted responded to the Wiltshire Times by stating it did not have anything further to add than what it had already published in reports.
