A nursery in Golders Green has permanently shut its doors for reasons that are not yet known.

Little Goldies Nursery, which was run out of the Golders Green Synagogue in Dunstan Road, was temporarily closed down by Ofsted on January 13.

A police probe was launched four days later, after Barnet Council reported concerns that had been raised with the authority about the "conduct of staff towards children" at the United Synagogue facility.

The United Synagogue has resigned its registration - meaning the nursery is permanently closed.

The facility, which employed five staff members, opened five years ago.

In a statement, Steven Wilson, chief executive of the United Synagogue, said: "Safeguarding is of the utmost importance to the United Synagogue in all of its settings.

"Ofsted has suspended Little Goldies’ Ofsted registration and, as a result, the nursery has been closed since January 13."

He added: "The United Synagogue is working closely with the lay leadership of Golders Green Synagogue and the relevant authorities, and we know the closure has caused significant disruption to Little Goldies families for which we are extremely sorry.

"Given there is an ongoing investigation we cannot comment any further at this stage."

In line with safeguarding procedure, Barnet Council contacted the police after "a series of concerns" were reported about the nursery.

A spokesperson confirmed the investigation into those concerns is ongoing, with its conclusions expected in a "period of not less than six weeks".

They added: "We are working closely with our partners as the investigation continues.”

Scotland Yard say its detectives are also investigating the matter.

A Met spokesperson said: "Officers from the north west public protection unit were contacted by the local authority on Monday, January 17 after concerns were raised to them around the conduct of staff towards children at a nursery in Golders Green. No arrests have been made."

They said they were not prepared to discuss the matter any further at this time.

The nursery was ranked Good by Ofsted two years ago.

It was found at that time that the setting had a community feel, and that children there were "happy and secure".

An Ofsted spokesperson said: "Following the reinspection on 10 January 2022, we suspended the provider’s registration for an initial period of six weeks. During this period of suspension the provider decided to resign their registration."

This inspection report will be published "in due course".