Toddlers 'at risk in nurseries'

Ofsted does not inspect nurseries rigorously enough, leaving toddlers potentially in danger, according to allegations on BBC One's Whistleblower programme.

An undercover reporter with no professional childcare experience or qualifications was given jobs in two nurseries in England and for British holiday company Mark Warner in Egypt.

In an interview given to the programme on condition of anonymity, an Ofsted inspector claims that the watchdog is approving childcare facilities that should not be operating.

The inspector said many Ofsted colleagues "don't believe that we protect children any more" as inspections do little more than "skim the surface".

"The number one priority for all inspectors is to meet their targets because if they don't then they are disciplined.

"Targets take priority over safeguarding of children," she said. "I am a mother of two young children and many of my colleagues have young children.

"Between us I would say we would inspect roughly 700 crèches, nurseries, after-school clubs, childminders, and there wasn't more than five that we would take our own children to."

Reporter Imogen Willcocks is given work looking after young children under the age of five in two nurseries despite being unqualified. None of the companies conducted Criminal Records Bureau checks or contacted the reporter's referees before hiring her, according to the programme.

At Just Learning nursery in Cambourne, near Cambridge, Ms Willcocks allegedly discovered potential choking hazards in the sandpit. The nursery has since been closed. At a second nursery, in London, she was left in sole charge of up to 13 children, while she also worked at the Mark Warner holiday resort in Dahab, Egypt.