Nursery owner charged with mistreating a child
Katy Morton
Thursday, April 18, 2013
A Gloucestershire nursery is under investigation after its owner was charged by police under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
Carol Cort, owner of Barn Nursery School and Day Nursery in Cheltenham, was charged by Gloucestershire Police on 21 March for assault, ill treatment, neglect/abandoning a child or young person to cause unnecessary suffering or injury.
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Constabulary has confirmed that Ms Cort is due to appear before Cheltenham Magistrates Court on 2 May.
Ofsted inspectors visited the nursery on Friday to suspend its registration, pending an investigation.
Reports suggest that the nursery was closed on 26 February following a serious incident at the setting the week before. It is believed that the nursery then re-opened before inspectors visited last week.
The 75-place nursery, rated good by Ofsted, opened in 1997 and provides care for children from birth to 11 years old.
In its last inspection in 2009, Ofsted found that the Barn Nursery School and Day Nursery did not meet requirements of the compulsory and/or voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. In order to comply with the requirements, the nursery was required to ensure parents and carers were provided with written safeguarding and complaints procedures.
Jane Bee, safeguarding children lead for Gloucestershire County Council, said, ‘Although this was an independently run nursery, in circumstances like this the county council works closely with the police and Ofsted to help ensure the safety and protection of children. We have been supporting local parents whose children attended the Barn Day Nursery by signposting them to other licensed nurseries in the area.’
