More than 70 nurseries across England and Wales failed their hygiene inspections over the last two years, a MailOnline investigation can reveal.
Damaged kitchens, no hot running water and unsanitary conditions were just some of the reasons businesses that care for young children were marked as unsatisfactory by health chiefs— which can put premises at risk of being closed down.
Some areas were seen to have a larger number of nurseries that were hand-slapped for poor hygiene, according to the analysis of data collected by the Food Standards Authority (FSA).
For instance three nurseries located in Waltham Forest, East London have scored zero out of five — the lowest possible rank that puts them at risk of imminent closure.
The FSA conduct regular hygiene inspections of childcare facilities across the UK every six months to two years, giving each business a score out of five.
A score of two or below is classed as unsatisfactory, meaning the premises has failed its inspection.
Some 23 businesses received a one out of five rating, while 47 were handed a two out of five score.
Premises with a mark of zero are considered to need ‘urgent improvement’, one ‘major improvement’ and two ‘some improvement’.
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MailOnline has today named and shamed all 73 nurseries that failed inspection in our interactive map.
Simply hover over the coloured dots to see if a nursery in your area is one with lapsed hygiene standards.
The data, which is updated by local authorities every 28 days, has been collected from the FSA website and is accurate as of November 12, 2024.
These ratings are not just given to nurseries but to every business where food is supplied or sold, including, pubs and cafes, as well as supermarkets, schools and care homes.
Hygiene inspectors employed by local councils visit these premises every six months to two years, with places that have been marked down and deemed ‘high risk’ visited more frequently.
Inspectors check how food is prepared and cooked, and asses the physical condition of the kitchen.
In addition, management of kitchens, such as completing paperwork and providing training to staff, are also taken into account.
However, the specifics of the hygiene failings are not available online, as local councils only publish vague information on inspectors’ findings.
There are approximately 12,909 nurseries in England and 368 in Wales, while the majority of them are considered to be meeting hygiene standards — 73 failed the inspection, MailOnline can reveal (file image)
However, information obtained from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that one nursery scored one out of five for having ‘worn cupboards’, ‘damaged food containers’, ‘dust behind the tumble dryer’ and for using the wrong cleaning products.
Another nursery was marked down for a ‘broken wash basin’, meaning staff and children didn’t have hot running water to wash their hands, another FOI revealed.
Instances such as these are checked up on in follow up visits and in some cases, businesses are told to fix the issue within 24 hours.
Businesses that score two or below can book a re-test once they have rectified the issues in the initial report.
In the most serious cases, officers can close a business until improvements are made and can also recommend that a firm should face prosecution for breaching food standards regulations.
While businesses in Wales are legally required by law to display their ratings in the window, this isn’t true for England.
Concerns have been raised as council budget cuts has led to a reduction in the number of inspections.
Over the past decade, the number of food standards inspectors employed by local councils has fallen by 45 per cent.
The FSA and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) warned that staff shortages and cuts are ‘putting unsustainable pressure on existing local authority teams and may increase the risk of important food safety issues being missed’.
The joint statement warned that many of those working for the local authority food safety teams are approaching retirement age.
Both the FSA and FSS warned: ‘Our concern is that this reduced capacity to assess authenticity, labelling and allergens compliance may compromise food standards in the future.
‘Without enough people with the right skills to deliver essential food controls, it will be more difficult to identify, monitor and respond to risks to food safety, leaving consumers and businesses vulnerable.’
