A BISHOPSTONE daycare centre has been given the lowest possible food hygiene rating, with inspectors saying urgent improvement is required.

Alfresco Childcare and Forest Pre-School received the zero rating following a visit by inspectors in January.

Bosses were told that improvement was necessary in the cleanliness and condition of their facilities.

A spokesman for the centre on New Town Lane, which looks after children aged between six weeks and 12 years old, said: “For various reasons, that’s what was awarded. We were given tasks to complete, and we have completed those.

“An inspector came, and there were issues she found. I have a lot of issue myself with some of her issues.

“But it’s her job, she gave us some tasks to complete, and we have done those – we did those within about three days.”

Alfresco does not serve meat – its website advertises that “all food is non-processed vegetarian (with occasional white fish) meals prepared here by our trained chef” – which the spokesman said reduced the chances of problems arising from the meals.

She said: “We don’t serve meat, so immediately our risks are minimal.

“I would take issue with many of the points raised, and that particular incident was so low down on our list of priorities.

“We know that everything is fine here – my own personal wish is to be far higher that other people’s standards.”

The daycare centre is now awaiting a re-inspection, and hopes that improvements it has made will be reflected in the rating it is awarded.

Following the inspection, they were told that urgent improvement was necessary in the management of food safety.

This includes having a system or checks in place to ensure that food served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and ensuring that the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in the future.

They were also told that improvement was necessary in the cleanliness and condition of their facilities and buildings, including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand-washing facilities and pest control.

Their hygienic food handling, including preparation, cooking, re-heating cooling and storage, was found to be generally satisfactory.

The centre was awarded a ‘good’ grade in all areas by Ofsted, in August, 2017.