Ofsted has suspended four activity centres run by Herefordshire based children's holiday company PGL following serious safeguarding issues.
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills undertook inspections of 5 PGL centres providing Ofsted-registered care and activities for unaccompanied children on half-term holidays.
Having found serious safeguarding issues at 4 of these sites, they took the decision to immediately suspend each of the 4 registrations.
In a statement, Ofsted said: "Some of the concerns identified are being investigated by other agencies and we are unable to provide specific details at this stage. But we can advise that they include environmental health concerns, health and safety issues, and the conduct of staff - including substance misuse."
The Ross-on-Wye based company provides residential breaks and activity holidays for children aged 7 -17 and operates from centres across the UK and France.
"Ofsted is only able to inspect PGL’s registered childcare provision in England. We do not have any power to inspect or regulate the other activities that PGL runs for children who are accompanied by their schools or parents.", it added.
The settings that have had their registration suspended are:
- Liddington, Wiltshire
- Marchants Hill, Surrey
- Osmington Bay, Dorset
- Windmill Hill, East Sussex
In a statement, PGL said:
A PGL spokesperson said: "PGL is committed to the highest operational standards. OFSTED’s recent reports have highlighted potential risks arising from isolated administrative and procedural shortcomings at four sites.
Over the next six weeks while the specific service that is regulated by OFSTED does not in any event operate, we will be working with OFSTED to fully understand and address their concerns.
The vast majority of PGL’s services – such as multi-activity programmes for the education sector and family adventure holidays – are completely unaffected and continue to operate as normal. We are passionate about delivering high quality, inspiring learning experiences that change young people’s lives."
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