After failing to report an allegation of abuse an Exmouth childcare provider has been rated inadequate by Ofsted.

The Government's education watchdog has rated Carousel Childcare's Exmouth site, located at Exmouth Town Football Club, as inadequate after an inspection was carried out on August 29. The report, which set out a number of actions to be taken, was published earlier this week.

Leadership, management, personal development, behaviour and welfare at the childcare provider were rated as inadequate. Learning outcomes, quality of teaching, learning and assessment were rated as requiring improvement.

According to the report: "Managers and staff have not followed the correct procedures regarding concerns about children's safety and welfare, and have failed to report an allegation of abuse to the

relevant agencies.

"Staff do not identify and remove all hazards that are a risk to children's safety in the outdoor play area and children's bathrooms.

"The quality of teaching is not consistently good. Staff do not all make effective use of the activities and their interactions, to challenge older children's learning further. They do not regularly encourage all younger children's communication and language development well."

However, the report does state that 'children are happy, settled and build warm relationships with staff and other children' and children enjoy regular activities to develop their physical skills.

A further inspection will be carried out by Ofsted within six months and Carousel Nurseries must meet a number requirements before the next inspection:

-Ensure all concerns about children's safety and welfare are reported to the relevant agencies with statutory responsibility to safeguard children's welfare.

-Ensure that any allegations against members of staff are shared with agencies that have responsibility for safeguarding, to ensure children are protected from harm.

-Improve the use of risk assessments to identify and remove all risks to children, particularly in the outdoor play area and children's bathrooms.

-Improve the quality of teaching and use of activities to challenge older children's learning further and to support younger children's communication and language development more effectively.

Nub News spoke to Carousel Nurseries' director Sarka Andersonova today for her take on the report from Ofsted. She said: "We're very sad as this is the first time we've been given an inadequate rating.

"We have had some problems outdoors, which are not entirely our responsibility as we are tenants of Exmouth Town Football Club.

"Some of the things had not been completed by the landlord. We've cordoned off an area of the playground and have now made repairs.

"All of the actions required by the report have now been completed and we are working with Devon Early Years on a Programme of Excellence.

"We want to reassure all of our parents that the children are happy and safe. This was caused by a breakdown of communication and we're looking at new ways to communicate effectively within our team.

"We have as a provider a responsibility for safeguarding our children. We have to keep a book of concerns and if an allegation does not meet a certain threshold we did not report it. We have now been told any concerns must be reported.

"If anyone would like to discuss their concerns I would urge them to contact me so I may reassure them."

If you would like to read the full report published by Ofsted, please click the red button below.