Little Swans Pre-School in Dawlish has shut down after serious safety issues were raised, leaving parents scrambling for alternatives.
Dawlish: So, there’s been a bit of a shake-up with the Little Swans Pre-School. They’ve had to close their doors after some serious safety concerns came to light.
Just before Christmas, complaints were made to Ofsted, saying the nursery wasn’t keeping up with the necessary safeguarding policies. That’s a big deal when it comes to looking after kids.
Parents are really feeling the pinch now, trying to find new places for their little ones. It’s tough out there, especially since nursery spots in Dawlish are already hard to come by.
Ofsted has been on the case since last July, checking into these complaints. They found that Little Swans wasn’t meeting the required safety standards, which is why they had to shut down.
On December 18, Ofsted got more concerns and decided to take action. They made a call and found that the nursery was still not meeting the safety requirements, so they suspended their registration right away.
That meant no childcare could happen there until things got sorted out. By December 20, Little Swans told Ofsted they wanted to resign their registration altogether.
Now, parents are really upset. Many said their kids loved going there, and it’s a real blow to lose that place. The complaints started back in July, and it’s been a long road since then.
Ofsted pointed out that there were issues with how kids were picked up, which could lead to them leaving the premises unsupervised. They stressed that action needed to be taken quickly.
They kept checking in over the months to make sure the staff knew how to handle safeguarding properly. But even after a visit in October, they found that things still weren’t up to scratch.
Legal notices were issued, and they had to make some changes. But despite all that, the nursery ended up closing again just before Christmas.
Little Swans hasn’t commented yet, but it’s clear this has been a tough situation for everyone involved.
