Barrow nursery closed by Ofsted over ‘risk of harm’ to children

A nursery has closed for six weeks with immediate effect after its registration was suspended.

Bright Horizons Nursery, based at Furness General Hospital in Barrow-in-Furness, shut on 22 July after the suspension by Ofsted.

A notice from the education watchdog, posted on the nursery’s door, said it had been shut because there was “reasonable belief that children may be at risk of harm”.

Alison Murphy, whose 16 month-old daughter attends the nursery, said she would have to rely on family for childcare. The nursery has apologised for the closure and said it was working with Ofsted.

A spokesperson for Ofsted said the purpose of the suspension was “to allow inquiries to be completed in relation to the concerns” and they could not give further details at this stage.

Murphy told the BBC there was no notice given of the closure.

“I went on Facebook on the local mum’s group and it said it was closed with immediate effect and that was that – it’s been a nightmare,” she said.

She said she and her partner would have to rely on family for childcare.

“We work really long hours which is why we use that nursery. We drop her off at seven and we pick her up at six,” she said.

“When we picked her up on Wednesday, the staff didn’t seem to know. They all said ‘see you on Friday.’

“She’ll adjust to a new nursery, but until then we’re going to have to take days off unpaid.”

A spokesperson for Bright Horizons said: “We understand the very real impact this temporary closure will have on our families and we are sorry for the disruption this has caused.

“Our priority remains the safety and wellbeing of children and we will continue to work with Ofsted.

“We will keep families updated as appropriate throughout this process and will provide further information when we are able to do so.”

Follow BBC Cumbria on X, external, Facebook, external, Nextdoor and Instagram, external.