A former employee at Partou King Street Nursery in Bristol has claimed that she alerted management to concerns about a suspected paedophile worker, but her warnings were ignored. Bessie Martin told the BBC that she became suspicious of Nathan Bennett's behaviour when she saw him holding children for too long and sitting them on his lap out of view of CCTV.
Martin was 'constantly complaining' about Bennett's behaviour for months, but her concerns were dismissed by management, who told her she was 'imagining it'. Bennett was eventually arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexually abusing five boys.
The BBC has found that Partou nurseries received a higher than average number of official notices to improve safeguarding and welfare, including Welfare Requirements Notices (WRNs) from Ofsted. Ofsted increased its inspection work into Partou and Bright Horizons, another nursery chain, after the arrest of two paedophiles.
Partou has stated that safeguarding is its 'highest priority' and that it has implemented recommendations to strengthen safeguarding governance and enhance oversight across the organisation.