A mother said she cried reading the Ofsted report of her children’s Ipswich nursery, which was rated 'inadequate' in all areas and has closed suddenly.

On Tuesday, inspectors published their findings following a visit to Twizzle Tops Day Nursery in Cavendish Street.

The nursery, which cares for children aged up to four years old, was rated as 'inadequate' in all areas.

The nursery, inspectors wrote, “has not carried out relevant Disclosure and Barring Service checks for adults who are in regular contact with children".

Inspectors added: “At times, these adults are not directly supervised and this means children's safety and welfare is not assured.”

They noted that “some staff working with older children physically intervene to move children, for example, by lifting them or pulling their arms”. However, “staff do not explain or give enough time to enable children to follow the rules. In addition, staff do not record these instances of physical intervention”.

They found that “support for children with SEND [special educational needs and disabilities] is weak”. They also found that “at times, the environment is chaotic and disorderly. Staff raise their voices to instruct children or to read stories. This does not help children learn from staff how to behave well”.

Inspectors did note that “babies and toddlers are cared for in a calm and well-organised environment. Toddlers enjoy their daily routines, including song and story times. They have structure to their day, which helps them to feel settled”.

However, “when older children are upset, staff do not offer the care and comfort children need to help them settle”.

They added that there were obstacles to children accessing the curriculum, writing: “Staff are rarely on hand to support children's learning as they play. Children attempt to draw and make marks, but the available pencils are blunt.”

Sharna Parlour’s twin sons were at the nursery. However, Ms Parlour said that parents were informed that the nursery was closing with immediate effect last Wednesday.

Ms Parlour said that she has been unhappy with the care her children received for the past few months.

She said that staff contacted her several times, saying that her children were unwell - but that when she arrived, she found they had rashes from being exposed to foods they were allergic to.

“I said to them it’s in their care plan, and they openly admitted they had lost my care plan for the children,” she said.

She said there was another instance when a family member staff had not previously met arrived at the nursery, and staff allowed them to collect the children without question or asking for the password agreed with parents beforehand, which is part of the safeguarding policy.

Last week, Ms Parlour said she arrived to collect her children, and found her son asleep on a staff member’s lap with a lump on his head.

She received conflicting reports about how her son had been hurt, and was eventually told by the managing director that no first aid had been given and that an accident form had been deleted.

Ms Parlour said that she cried reading the Ofsted report, which she said made her feel like she had failed her children.

“It’s just horrible,” she said. “We have to go to work, we can’t quit our jobs because then we’d have no food on the table.

“I’ve paid £13,000 this year alone, and according to the Ofsted report, I’ve been paying for them to be neglected.”

A spokesperson for Twizzle Tops confirmed that the nursery had closed. "We will not be commenting further with regards to any of the queries," they said.