A village nursery owner has lodged a series of complaints with Ofsted amid claims of unfounded criticism.

Nursery owner Amy Savill has written to the education watchdog following an inspector’s visit to Acorn Childcare, based at Hatfield Peverel Community Centre in March.

The nursery lost its “good” rating after inspectors looked at three areas of early years provision and instead found it “required improvement”.

Following the report published last month, Miss Savill said: “The main focus for her was on the premises and communication with parents.

“Our main complaint is about communication because we communicate with parents verbally every day and Ofsted were saying we couldn’t prove this, so we’re complaining that we don’t want to spend all our time writing down every conversation we have with parents because we would rather spend our time with the children.”

With regards to the premises, Miss Savill wrote in her letter of complaint letter: “During the inspection, the inspector focussed heavily on the flooring, which is very old, as is the hall.

“I explained to the inspector that it is unfortunate that the hall is dated, but that I always do everything possible to make the most of the space we have.”
In response to concerns raised over a small area of worn flooring in the hallway, Miss Savill said:

“The area of slightly worn flooring is definitely not a hazard to anybody.

“There’s no depth to the worn area - it can not be tripped over or slipped on.”

An Ofsted spokesman said: “Inspection findings and judgements are based on what we find on that day, based on the requirement of early years framework and Ofsted's evaluation schedule 

“Ofsted is aware of the complaint and all complaints will be investigated and dealt with robustly in line with our complaint policy."