A nursery is to close with immediate effect after “safeguarding concerns” were raised following the death of a child.
Jelly Beans Day Nursery was shut down this week after a toddler became unwell in their care and died after being rushed to hospital.
The shocking death and swift closure comes five years after a young child fell seriously unwell following an overdose of prescribed medication, given within Jelly Beans nursery.
The watchdog for nurseries Ofsted rubber-stamped the immediate closure and said in a statement today that an investigation is underway.
Bosses wrote to inform parents on Thursday that the tot’s death occurred due to a “sudden and very unexpected medical need”.
The email to parents said, at present, the cause of death is unknown, according to a Mirror Online report.
However, it stated that staff of the nursery, based in Ashford, Kent, were “directly involved in assisting” in the child’s medical care.
Ofsted suspended the nursery’s registration, which is expected to last up to six weeks, and parents have been forced to place their child in alternative care spaces.
Nursery manager Debbie Alcock wrote in an email to parents: “You will be aware that last week on Thursday we needed to ask for emergency services to attend the nursery due to a sudden and very unexpected medical need.
“At present we do not know the cause.
“Myself and some of my staff were directly involved in assisting and due to the need for the parents’ privacy and respect we still cannot give you any further information and in fact we have not been updated ourselves.
“Ofsted have made a decision to suspend our registration.
“This means that we cannot care for any child while the suspension is in place.”
An Ofsted spokesman said: “We have suspended the nursery’s registration due to serious safeguarding concerns. It will remain closed while investigations continue.”
In 2016 the nursery, then run by Ranc Care, came in for scathing criticism from Ofsted after an inspection found a toddler had been given an overdose of prescription medication.
As a result, its Ofsted rating was downgraded from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’. A later inspection in 2018 restored its ‘good’ rating.
RCH Care Homes, headquartered in Essex, has yet to comment on the closure.
Ms Alcock declined to comment.
