Bright Horizons, one of the UK's largest nursery chains, has been ordered by Ofsted to address safeguarding and welfare failures identified in 69 of its settings across the country. The Welfare Requirements Notice (WRN) requires the company to rectify all breaches by August 1, 2026.
Background of the Inspections
The regulatory action followed serious safeguarding concerns that emerged in September 2025 regarding Vincent Chan, a former employee at a Bright Horizons nursery in London. Chan was convicted of 56 sexual offences, including child abuse, and sentenced to 18 years in prison. In response, Ofsted launched an extensive programme of regulatory activity across all 247 nurseries in the Bright Horizons group.
Inspectors conducted visits, inspections, and direct engagement with senior leaders at 172 nurseries, uncovering breaches of requirements in 69 of these settings. The Manchester Evening News reports that none of the breaches apply to nurseries in Greater Manchester, though the region hosts centres in Astley, Bolton, Didsbury, Sale, Timperley, and Trafford.
Ofsted's Requirements and Monitoring
Ofsted stresses that the majority of Bright Horizons nurseries continue to meet requirements and advises parents to consult individual nursery inspection reports for accurate information. The WRN is intended to prompt urgent improvement at the highest organisational level to ensure higher standards for children across the group. Ofsted will monitor Bright Horizons' response to ensure completion of required actions.
His Majesty's Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, stated: “The outcome summary we’ve published sets out clearly what the Bright Horizons group must do, and by when. We will be monitoring their progress closely. My message to parents is to read your nursery’s latest inspection report or update on the Ofsted website. The majority of Bright Horizons nurseries are meeting requirements. We have already published reports and updates on all of the nurseries that we visited – today’s action is about identifying improvements that need to happen at a management level within the Bright Horizons group.”
Sir Martyn also highlighted additional funding from the Department for Education to support early years work, including thousands more no-notice inspections, which he said will strengthen efforts to ensure children receive safe, high-quality care.
Bright Horizons' Response
A spokesperson for Bright Horizons said: “The safety and wellbeing of the children in our care is always our first priority. Whilst we are disappointed that Ofsted have chosen to issue a Welfare Requirements Notice against us, particularly as Sir Martyn Oliver recognises that the majority of our nurseries are meeting requirements, we are taking the matter extremely seriously. On those occasions when our practice falls short of the standards we and our families rightly expect, we recognise that this is not acceptable. We are taking swift and robust action at the highest level and are working in partnership with Ofsted to fully address the concerns identified, which we are confident we will be able to do successfully. We continue to focus on consistently embedding our strong safeguarding culture across all our nurseries.”
