A nursery that was shut down amid concerns children were "at risk" has been branded inadequate just three days after reopening.

Tiny Stars in Canterbury was suspended from operating in July until significant changes were made following complaints to Ofsted.

The childcare centre in Simmonds Road, Wincheap, reopened "under new management and with a new experienced team" in October, with 20 families taking up places.

But just three days after, inspectors paid another visit - and were not impressed by what they found.

The regulator rated the facility "inadequate" - the lowest possible grading - after concluding "children's safety was not assured" and vetting checks were not adequate enough to ensure staff were suitable to work with youngsters.

The nursery, which describes itself as "experts in early childcare", was criticised for employing workers who were not knowledgeable about what “action to take to ensure children's safety”.

The watchdog noted that staff did "not know children well enough to enable them to provide sufficient support in their learning and development”, and did “not support children's personal, social and emotional development well enough”.

The damning report continues: “Children do not benefit from a curriculum that is tailored to their learning needs.

“The environment does not offer a sufficient level of challenge or motivate children to learn new skills.

“Consequently, children will often spend time playing alone.”

But Tiny Stars says the site was not given enough time for improvements to take effect.

A spokesman said: "We approached reopening as if we were starting from scratch again as we had to settle in our new team, rebuild our systems and procedures, settle the children back in and get to know the families.

"The reality is that three days after reopening we were in a crossover stage between the previous management and team and settling in the new management and team.

"There was a lot of work being done. During this period, the new team were focused on putting the appropriate standards and procedures back in place, settling in children, allocating key persons, and getting to know the families.

"Tiny Stars has a new and experienced team in place now led by a level 7 manager. All members of the team are qualified, skilled and have quickly bonded as a team. All are reference-checked and DBS checked."

However, inspectors did find that despite recent changes at the nursery, children arrived "happy and ready to play", and received regular encouragement and praise from staff.

"The reality is that three days after reopening we were in a crossover stage..."

The centre was rated inadequate by Ofsted in 2018, when electrical wires were found in reach of young children and trip hazards were left out where toddlers play.

Staff managed to turn things around and the centre was regraded as 'good' one year later. But the latest inspection on October 22 has returned Tiny Stars to 'inadequate' in all areas.

The Tiny Stars spokesman added: "The last few months have been a challenging period in the nursery's history.

"However, the owner of Tiny Stars has remained committed to continuing to provide a childcare provision in Canterbury despite the costs involved as a result of the upheaval of the last few months.

"There is a need for nursery spaces in Canterbury and he is dedicated to the Tiny Stars family and to the future of the nursery.

"Ofsted will reinspect Tiny Stars with the next five months, and we are intent on reclaiming our 'Good' grade."