Sex abuse nursery investigation dropped

Owner Rachel Cartmell, who was not arrested, has now lost her business after being forced to put the nursery into liquidation in September, when its licence was suspended by Ofsted.

During the five-month investigation a 37-year-old woman, understood to be a member of staff, and 48 year-old man were arrested and bailed.

But last week, a spokesman for Wiltshire police said their bail had been cancelled, and the investigation concluded with no charges brought.

Police would not confirm who made the allegation but said it was about sexual abuse of more than one child.

The nursery gained a ‘good’ Ofsted rating in May, two months before the allegation was made.

Ms Cartmell told the Gazette and Herald that she had not been told anything about the investigation.

She added that liquidation meant that staff would be redundancy pay and added, ‘You can’t keep a nursery and pay the staff when your licence has been suspended.

‘I do not blame the parents, that’s the reason why they have left, the staff have had to find other jobs.'

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said, ‘No further police action is being taken against any party regarding this case and our investigation has now concluded.

‘Whilst we appreciate this has caused a considerable amount of concern in the local community, due to the nature and scope of the investigation, it was imperative given the information passed to us that our enquiries were comprehensive and thorough.’

Rachel Cartmell gave us a full interview for our Spring 2015 edition of Nursery Management, which can be read here