A nursery has been rated inadequate after concerns about children’s safety being “compromised”.

Little Earthworms, in Brighton, was given the lowest rating following an Ofsted inspection in March.

Ofsted inspectors said there were “weaknesses” in overarching safeguarding procedures meaning “children's safety and well-being are compromised”.

The nursery, in Ditchling Road, was previously rated good but has now been rated inadequate overall, requires improvement in the quality of education and behaviour and attitudes categories and inadequate in personal development and leadership and management.

“Leaders do not ensure that all staff understand the risk assessments that are in place for unvetted individuals,” the report said.

“Consequently, staff who are waiting for suitability checks to be approved have unsupervised contact with children.

“The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

“There is not an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.”

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Ofsted has raised concerns about the inconsistency of the quality of learning for younger children.

“Staff are unclear about how to plan experiences and activities that precisely align to the individual learning needs of children,” the report said.

“Therefore, learning is often incidental and not purposeful. At times, younger children struggle to engage and become easily unsettled.”

Inspectors also said there were times children became “unsettled”.

“Staff support older children to understand the 'golden rules' of the nursery,” Ofsted said.

“This helps children to understand expected behaviour and how their behaviour can impact on themselves and others. This contributes towards children's good behaviour and the positive relationships they have with their friends.

“However, there are times when much younger children are very unsettled. Staff do not consistently provide the necessary support to enable children to feel emotionally safe and secure. Consequently, children become upset, which hinders their engagement in play and learning.”

However, inspectors praised staff, who “provide children with a warm welcome on arrival” for encouraging children to be independent, for example putting their own coats on, and said “staff provide opportunities for older children to develop their gross and fine motor skills”.

“This includes providing tools such as brushes for outdoor wall painting and cutters to manipulate play dough to children's desired effect,” the report said.

“This helps to build their dexterity and muscle control, which will later contribute towards emerging handwriting skills.”

The Argus has contacted Little Earthworms for comment.