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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Joe Morgan & Sam Elliott-Gibbs & Rhys Griffiths

Nursery immediately shuts down after child dies 'due to safeguarding concerns'

A nursery has been told to shut down due to "safeguarding concerns" following the tragic death of a child.

School watchdog Ofsted confirmed the immediate closure of the daycare in Ashford, Kent.

Jelly Beans Day Nursery was shut after a young child became unwell and was taken to hospital in a medical emergency.

It came five years after a toddler had been given an overdose of prescription medication at the facility.

Bosses wrote to inform parents about the incident on Thursday last week that the tot's death occurred due to a "sudden and very unexpected medical need".

The email to parents said, at present, the cause is unknown.

But it said that staff were "directly involved in assisting" in the child's medical care.

Ofsted suspended the nursery's registration, 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.

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