Padiham nursery that closed after Ofsted inspectors rated it 'inadequate' up for sale with £400,000 price tag

Ofsted confirmed yesterday that Victoria's Nursery in Padiham had closed its doors for good.

A spokesman for the government body said: “The provider decided to close the nursery with immediate effect during a re-inspection we undertook in November.

"The provider is no longer registered with Ofsted.”

The building in Burnley Road is now on the market with Ilkley based Alan J Picken Business Transfer Agents for £399,950.

The property includes all fixtures, fittings and equipment that can accommodate up to 36 children from birth to the age of five. The agent says the building has bright, colourful playrooms and outdoor play areas with modern equipment.

A pink double decker bus, that former owner Kerry Driver bought earlier this year, is also for sale by separate negotiation.

The nursery was ordered to close for two weeks last month by Ofsted following an inspection which rated it 'inadequate.'

At the time, the owner, Kerry Driver, vowed she would get the nursery back up to a 'good' rating standard which was issued to the nursery by Ofsted in 2019.

The nursery in Burnley Road was inspected on September 20th, and inspectors took enforcement action by issuing a welfare requirements' notice, forcing it to close. A deadline of October 8th was set for the improvements required to be made.

It later re-opened after the team worked through the closure to make the improvements.

But inspectors said that 'weak leadership and an unacceptable standard of care' had resulted in the setting failing to provide children with a good level of education.

The leadership and management of the nursery was rated as inadequate and the report said that the owner, who was also the manager, did not 'have sufficient understanding of how to meet the learning and development or the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the early years foundation stage.'

The report said that as a result of there being insufficient staff on the premises to meet the needs of the children the environment is 'disorganised, chaotic and noisy, ' with significant weaknesses which do not support children's learning or their emotional well-being.