The crimes committed by Nathan Bennett at our former King Street nursery in Bristol were horrific and deeply distressing.
Our thoughts remain first and foremost with the children and families affected.

Since becoming aware of Bennett’s offending, Partou has cooperated fully with the police and relevant authorities throughout the investigation and subsequent legal proceedings. We also commissioned an independent solicitor-led review into safeguarding practices and procedures at King Street.

That review concluded that the safeguarding framework and policies in place were compliant with statutory requirements. It did, however, identify failures in the application of certain processes and procedures by individuals. Action was subsequently taken, and a number of individuals involved no longer work for Partou.

Since then, we have implemented a range of measures to strengthen safeguarding governance, reporting processes, whistleblowing procedures and leadership oversight across the organisation. This includes additional safeguarding leadership roles, strengthened escalation procedures and increased safeguarding expertise within our senior leadership team.

Nothing is more important to us than the safety and wellbeing of the children in our care.

The programme also raises wider questions regarding Ofsted notifications and enforcement activity across Partou nurseries.
We believe it is important that this information is understood in its proper context.

Partou has operated as a single unified provider in the UK since January 2024, following the integration of previously independent nursery groups under the Partou brand. Since then, we have been undertaking significant work to harmonise safeguarding, operational and governance standards across our organisation.

We also actively encourage colleagues to raise concerns and maintain a transparent and collaborative relationship with Ofsted and safeguarding authorities. Many notifications made to Ofsted relate to matters such as staffing ratios, training requirements, procedural compliance or other operational issues rather than incidents involving harm to children.

We believe strong safeguarding depends on openness, transparency and a willingness to report concerns rather than suppress them. Concerns should be raised, investigated and addressed. That culture of reporting is an important part of protecting children and maintaining public confidence.

Safeguarding is never static, and we remain committed to continually strengthening our practices, learning from experience, and working closely with regulators, safeguarding professionals and authorities to ensure children receive the highest standards of care and protection.