A nursery has been slated by Ofsted after inspectors found babies were being changed on “dirty” mats and sleeping in shared bedding “not washed regularly”.

Little Acorns Childcare at St Georges Church in Folkestone was given a rating of “Inadequate” – the lowest possible grade – over various issues of hygiene, safety, and teaching standards.

At the pre-school’s first evaluation since being registered in 2021, government watchdog officers criticised staff for “breaches of safeguarding and welfare requirements”.

“Older children are not adequately supervised when they are eating,” said the inspection report.

“The changing mats used for nappies are torn and dirty and the inner sponge is exposed.

“Bedding is dirty and the same bedding is used for all children, with infrequent washing.

“This poor practice does not adequately prevent the spread of infection.”

“The changing mats used for nappies are torn and dirty and the inner sponge is exposed...”

Concerns were also raised regarding the effectiveness of teaching.

On visiting the under-four’s daycare centre on March 8, evaluators found the quality of education to be “variable across the nursery and, on occasion, poor”.

Although at times youngsters appeared to enjoy and engage in activities, inspectors found that teachers “do not have a good understanding of how to use their interactions to support children and extend their learning”.

“Staff too often prioritise carrying out routine tasks, like tidying and setting up resources, and have their backs to children,” wrote officials.

“Staff working with older children sometimes introduce them to new language.

“But, too often their interactions are simplistic and the quality of communication is inconsistent across the staff team.”

The inspector did note that nursery workers had good knowledge of how to identify the signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect.

“We have ongoing changes to support staff knowledge and a rich curriculum and parents have been very supportive of the setting overall...”

The Audley Road pre-school will be reinspected within five months and has been instructed by Ofsted to recfitfy the shortcomings highlighted in the report published earlier this week.

Little Acorns’ manager and director, Laura Culshaw, says all recommended actions were implemented within 24 hours of the inspection.

“We are confident that our next report will be more positive,” she said.

“We have ongoing changes to support staff knowledge and a rich curriculum and parents have been very supportive of the setting overall.

“We remain committed to ensure that our setting is a safe and stimulating environment for the children who attend and we are confident that this has been achieved with the measures implemented following the inspection.”