Nursery World - Nursery Management: Inspection

Conflicts of interest, whether real or perceived, are a hornet’s nest for nurseries and inspectors alike. Jo Parkes investigates

In September 2013, the 50-place Rocklands Day Nursery in Merseyside closed its doors for the last time. Co-owner Roy Godwin, who has another two settings, took the decision after a downgrade to Inadequate by a Prospects inspector. The setting’s 20 members of staff lost their jobs.

Besides her work for Prospects, the inspector was also part of a family-run nursery group in the region.

When Mr Godwin appealed against the judgment, one of the points he raised was about a potential conflict of interest, suggesting the group may have been a competitor. One of the group’s nurseries was just eight miles away. ‘Parents travel certainly within that distance to a nursery,’ the nursery owner says. ‘There are anecdotes of inspectors saying that they feel conflicted within 15 miles if they work for a nursery group in a catchment area.’

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