These children play happily, but for some the experience is not so good

Critics of the Ofsted inspection system say some private nurseries may be altering staffing rotas and practice ahead of inspections, to ensure they get a good report.

BBC News Online talks to a nursery nurse who worked in the private sector to find out about his experiences.

Matthew works as a nursery nurse in an education authority-controlled infants and junior school.

He left the private sector last year after two-and-a-half- years because he became disillusioned with "profit put before children's welfare".

His experience of working in three private nurseries leads him to believe there is widespread under-staffing in the sector.

And accusations of nursery owners striving to create a false impression for Ofsted inspectors come as "no surprise", he says.

'Stay home'

Under current inspection rules, Ofsted informs nurseries of the month of their inspection, although Matthew says staff are given a firmer date as they get closer to the inspection.

He says that when the owner of one day nursery he worked at had notice of the Ofsted visit, she brought in two further members of staff to reach the legally required staff-to-child ratio.

I felt bemused that this was not a fair representation of the nursery in practice

"But what was even worse was that she spoke to a number of parents who she was on friendly terms with and arranged with them to keep their children at home on inspection day," he said.

"I felt bemused that this was not a fair representation of the nursery in practice. Some of the more established members of staff were disgusted.

"On some days, the staff-to-child ratio was being flouted and, had she not taken these extra measures, this would have been noted."

Matthew believes that standards at some private nurseries are a victim of the government's "universal nursery places for three and four-year-olds" policy and that a shortfall in provision has seen private nurseries taking on more children.

"There is a general feeling in the private sector, from my experience, that the emphasis is on quantity and not necessarily quality, in terms of training and staffing requirements," he said.

Staff did not need to be as well qualified as before the government's push for "universal provision", he said.

Inexperienced

His first experience of a private nursery, as a student visiting about a work placement, was "quite distressing".

"I was waiting on my own in a room to meet a member of staff about the placement and, all of a sudden, about 20 children came in from playing outside," he said.

I 'd only been training for about six months and, although it was only for five minutes, I felt inexperienced and out of my depth

"I had to look after them on my own until the member of staff came back and introduced herself.

"I 'd only been training for about six months and, although it was only for five minutes, I felt inexperienced and out of my depth."

BBC One's Real Story, due to be shown on Thursday night, uncovers failings in private nurseries that had been previously approved by Ofsted inspectors.

They include under-staffing and verbal abuse of toddlers.

Although Matthew says he experienced under-staffing as "the norm", he says he had seen one "extremely rare" case of verbal abuse at one private nursery he worked at.

"There was a two-year-old boy whose hair kept falling out because of a medical condition.

One of the staff used to repeatedly call him 'Alopecia' to his face to try and make other members of staff laugh

"One of the staff used to repeatedly call him 'Alopecia' to his face to try and make other members of staff laugh. That was disgusting."

But Matthew is keen to point out that, while he was relieved to leave the private sector to work in "well-paid quality provision where standards are usually consistently high", the vast majority of his former colleagues were "in it for the love of the job".

"While I may have had a negative experience in the private sector, the love, care and attention of the majority of my colleagues in very difficult situations has, overall, benefited the welfare of the children," he added.

Tricia Pritchard, of the Professional Association of Nursery Nurses, said that although there were loopholes for the "more unscrupulous providers", most nurseries offered quality child care with "high standards and requirements of their staff".

She told BBC News Online: "The majority of nurseries are offering an excellent service and parents should not be unduly worried about these reports."

She urged parents to visit nurseries and speak to other parents when deciding where to send their children.