THE director of an Overton nursery is claiming Ofsted down-graded their inspection report to protect itself.

Marianne Preece, director of Overton Children’s House, believes her nursery should have been rated “outstanding” rather than “good”.

Last February the setting was told to improve because children’s well-being was “at risk”. It was found to be “inadequate” in all areas.

A report, published in March, said “Staff use inappropriate methods to manage children’s behaviour”.

Inspectors also found that recruitment procedures were not robust to help keep children safe, and the provider failed to inform the education watchdog that a child had left the nursery, based at St Luke’s Hall, in Winchester Street, unsupervised.

The latest report, published on October 17, graded the nursery as “good” in all areas.

Ms Preece said: “We are obviously delighted with the very positive Ofsted report. The inspector was particularly impressed by the comments from our parents, who say we are outstanding. The reason why it is not outstanding is to protect Ofsted from accusations of errors in the previous report. If that the previous report had been correct it would not have been possible to have achieved the comments in the current report in such a short time.”

The report said: “Children settle quickly and happily into this calm and organised environment. Behaviour is good. Children form good friendships with staff and playmates, and co-operate well with each other. Staff are sensitive to the children and their individual needs.”

The nursery has 13 children on roll, compared to 27 in February.

Ofsted said it is not “outstanding” because: “Occasionally, staff miss opportunities to challenge the quieter children’s skills during play.”

Inspector Lynne Lewington described the leadership and management team as “passionate"about the service they offer and clearly strives continuously to develop and build on the good-quality service they provide."

She added: “Parents speak highly about the warm welcome, the good progress their children make and the confidence they have in the provision.”

She said management had addressed weaknesses from the last inspection thoroughly, adding: “Staff are secure in their knowledge of child protection issues and the reporting of procedures to follow if they have concerns in order to protect children from further harm.”

Overton Children’s House is one of two privately-owned Montessori settings - the other is in Steventon.

Ms Preece said: “We would like to thank all the parents, Hampshire County Council and the Montessori Schools Association for supporting us during this time.”

Ofsted did not respond to The Gazette’s request for a comment.