A Sidcup nursery has been slammed by an education watchdog for failing to "protect children's welfare".

Chatterbox House Day Nursery, operating out of Main Road in Sidcup, was rated "Inadequate" across the board by Ofsted following a thorough inspection in May.

Inspectors highlighted serious shortcomings with regard to leadership, management, quality of teaching and children's behaviour.

According to the Ofsted report, the nursery's management failed to take appropriate steps to "manage allegations against other staff".

It read: " Staff attend child protection training and know the possible signs of abuse.

"However, the provider fails to ensure that the designated safeguarding leads act on allegations against staff. This puts children at risk.

"Additionally, the provider fails to inform Ofsted and the local safeguarding services about their internal investigations about staff, and the action taken following allegations. #

"Furthermore, the provider does not ensure that internal investigations are sufficiently robust and in line with local safeguarding procedures."

This latest inspection has highlighted a stark drop in standards at Chatterbox House, as the facility was previously rated "Good" after their last Ofsted inspection in February this year.

When asked to comment on Ofsted's findings, a spokesperson for Chatterbox House Sidcup said: "“Following our inspection which was held on May 7, we are challenging a number of statements made in the report.

"This is an ongoing process.

"We recently had a monitoring visit from Ofsted, in which it was confirmed we have met the welfare requirement notices listed in the report."