Bridgend nursery closes down after inspectors’ surprise visit

Inspectors found ‘significant issues impacting on safety and well-being of children’ – so owners closed down business overnight.

The safety and well-being of children at a privately-run nursery in Bridgend has been affected by “significant issues”, according to inspectors called in by whistleblowers.

Pili Pala Day Nurseries in Bridgend shut suddenly after an unannounced visit on Monday by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) which found what it termed “a number of significant issues which were impacting on the safety and well-being of children”.

CSSIW said these issues included “a lack of essential supplies”, but did not go into further detail.

Parents found the Merthyr Mawr Road premises, which takes children ranging from young babies to toddlers, locked on Tuesday morning. Staff members, apparently unaware of the decision, found their keys no longer worked.

Pili Pala’s owners, who run other nursery businesses including two branches of Pili Pala in Cardiff, said that as the welfare of the children is their primary and overriding concern, they decided to shut the business with immediate effect once they were informed on Monday that the premises did not meet the high standards that they wish to provide.

The Bridgend branch had been due to close on December 23, but the directors said they made the difficult decision to bring the closure forward.

A CSSIW spokeswoman said: “The provider took the decision to voluntary suspend the service.

“If they had not done so, CSSIW would have considered suspending their registration. The service confirmed that they would tell families and carers of the decision.”

Pili Pala director Shireen Griffiths has issued a statement through her solicitor.

In it she said: “We are sorry that the nursery has had to close and I understand the distress and major inconvenience that this has caused.

“However, I would like to reassure our customers that the decision was taken in the interests of the children in our care.

“All advance payments which have been made to us will be returned immediately and we have written to all the parents to reassure them that their children’s story files and other personal items will be returned as soon as possible.”