Nursery worker arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting child

A nursery worker has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a child, it emerged today. The woman, from Poole, in Dorset, was held on Sunday evening over an allegation that she sexually assaulted a child under 13. She has been released on police bail and the Down in the Woods pre-school where she works in Merley, also in Dorset, has been closed while the investigation continues. Police said the alleged offence was claimed to have taken place at a house in Poole, not at the nursery. The nursery building has been searched and is expected to remain closed today. A Dorset police spokesman said: "A woman from Poole has been released on police bail with strict conditions after an allegation that she sexually assaulted a child under 13 at a house in Poole. "She was arrested on the evening of Sunday 23 May and has been police bailed while investigations continue. "As part of the investigation, specialist police officers have searched the premises of the Down in the Woods nursery." The spokesman said officers were "working closely with the Borough of Poole children's services and the Bournemouth and Poole Primary Care Trust, which are also involved in safeguarding children". More than 60 parents crammed into the nursery building last night for a hastily arranged meeting intended to address their fears. Police and education officials took questions. David Brown, a local councillor who was in attendance, said: "Not surprisingly, there was a lot of concern and questions from parents about the allegations and about when the pre-school will reopen. "There was a lot of information provided and a lot of the concerns were allayed. It was a calm and well-mannered meeting, considering." Chief Inspector Steve White, of Dorset police, said: "Parents asked questions of the investigation team. We responded to their concerns and gave them as much information as we could to reassure them." The force said it would not release any information that could identify an arrested person, including age, name or address. At the end of last year, the pre-school's existence was threatened because there were structural problems with the building in which it was housed, but a solution was found and the nursery was able to continue. According to the latest Ofsted report on the pre-school, it is registered to look after a maximum of 20 children, aged two to five, at a time. When the report was produced, the nursery employed nine people, and the document concluded: "The quality and standards of the care are good."