Mumsnet Talk

My ds (2) escaped from nursery, when I picked him up they said there had been an incident. He is 2. He has form for this kind of stuff but nursery didnt know as settling didnt ask about him.

I think a parent from my dds nursery found him and a lady from the afterschool club, I over heard her talking saying the nursery didnt know he was missing he was on main road, everyone was saying whose son is this where is his mum etc,

nursery said there is gonna be investigation.

what do i do tomorrow?

You don't take him back in until the investigation has been performed and they've discussed the findings with you and put measures in place.
If 'he has form' for this kind of thing then You really should have mentioned it at settling in, it's not a standard question for them to ask.

they didnt notice find a new nursery and put in an official complaint it could have been a very different outcome. so sorry this happened your mind must be doing oveftime.

I would have told them about him being a little escapologist at settling, not waited for someone to ask. I'm glad he's safe, and the nursery do need to look into exactly how he was able to escape.

first of all I hope you are ok, being told this must have shook you up.

I then say you don't take him back until they have investigated. Even if he has form he should never ever be able to leave their premises alone regardless of how often he may have slipped away before. The fact that he was not missed is also an issue imo.

Totally agree with fieldfare. Don't take him back until the investigation has taken place (which should be ASAP) and they've told you what (robust!) measures they are taking to stop it from happening again.

I also agree that you should have mentioned it at settling in. You're the parent. You know your child. You should have told them.

That's no excuse though. There should have been no opportunity for him to escape. My heart was in my mouth just reading your title. My son is also a bolter and just a little younger than yours. If I thought there was any chance at all that he could 'escape' from nursery he wouldn't be going there.

thats it they didnt ask any questions at settling in, just gave birth certificates, and they didnt give key worker etc until i asked,

when i went to talk to support worker at childrens centre coz he is on neg2 place, she said if they had talked to you before he started about his behaviour in general and his character it is something that would have come up.

That is quite scarey!! Due to several moves since we've had children (military family) we have had experience of four nurseries an I honestly do not know how they coul have escaped from any of them (and one of mine had serious previous for escaping). I would not put him back unless they have identifie exactly how he escaped, how no one noticed, and how they will prevent it again. I would be quite uneasy about sending him back I have to be honest. Good luck!

HTH did he escape? It shouldn't be possible. They sound lax. I'd be looking elsewhere, personally.

the nursery is within a community centre, like a room with a bolt on the top of the door, there is no way he could have opened it himself.

then he would have to go through the community centre, past the reception press the buttons on two more doors to get out on road

I dont think they even know how he escaped

Very scary, glad he is ok. Complain to ofsted as well as nursery

I am very laid back when it comes to nursery.
BUT this is serious.
He is two, how the hell did he get out?

To be honest it doesn't make a bit of difference that he 'has form'. If you work with two year olds you have to presume that they all 'have form'.

I am glad he is ok and I hope you are too.

Make sure they do a proper investigation.

Have they only just started accepting children at 2 years? A lot of the nurseries round here have and I am not convinced they are properly set up for it yet.

But the money is tempting.

I would leave my child there and I would complain in writing.

So either he walked past lot's of staff through open doors that should have been closed, or there's another route. Open window maybe? The fact that they didn't miss him is very worrying, don't accept "we don't know what happened" it's duty to look after the children, even those that will bolt given half a chance.

The more I think about this the more unbelievable I find it 0 especially given your description of how to get out! I think I would be inclined to look elsewhere if possible. And advice about reporting to Ofsted is very good advice.

That's a lot of doors for him to pass through unnoticed.

[valium]

It seems impossible that a two year old could've got through all that unnoticed...

I know you're probably going crazy already but could there be another explanation? Could an older child have helped him? Or god forbid an abduction gone wrong. Feel bad even writing it sorry.

their duty

So they didn't have any kind of conversation with you about your two year old's personality before he started? That in itself is very dodgy in my opinion, and the fact he was able to get out of the building with no one noticing is appalling.

I would have serious doubts about sending him back at all.

He probably tailgated an adult? If the doors are the push-button automatic type, they probably stay open a few moments and the adult would not need to hold it open but would walk straight through, so a child could easily follow. Might be he went after one of the staff who he likes or something?

Do they have another entrance? For example a fire door that might have been propped open for workmen or deliveries?

The weather has been warmer of late, so could they have had the children playing outside?

You need to ensure that they have informed Ofsted about this. They may not want to but I'm sure they would rather be seen to do this themselves than leave you to make a complaint.

I agree with previous posters. You must assume that all two year olds will run of given the opportunity and I would worry about any setting which doesn't get a decent amount of information about the child before they begin settling in.

Dear god that is crap! And they didn't notice him missing!

Do not send him back until they have done a thorough investigation and have procedures in place to make sure it can't happen again,

You shouldn't have to tell them he likes to escape, lots of two year olds wander off. It should not be possible.

It used to be, but Ofsted have got really hot on safeguarding and rules about play grip doors and gates.

I didn't send DD1 to our local play group because I knew, from toddlers, that she could get out, but that's 12 years ago. The rules are far stricter.

Yes school children can escape, they can press security switches, draw bolts and climb gates, but 2y shouldn't.

This happened to my son.
He was found trying to cross a main road, luckily a driver stopped and called the police.
The police asked him when he had come from my ds managed to tell them, when the policeman went back to the nursery with him, the did not even know he was gone.
He had been gone for 45 minutes.
There was an investigation, ofsted were involved as I called them, ds was 3 at the time.
It was in a hall, ds had got out the back door, they were made to put bolts on the door and re look at there safety.
I never sent ds back I found a new nursery.
The policeman was disgusted and really angry.
He came to our house to let us know where ds was found & what had happened.
I thank my lucky stars the driver stopped cause it was a really busy main road ds was trying to cross
Don't send your child back, call ofsted and let them do a full investigation.

this is my worst nightmare dont send him back in if its possible. ds2 has been going to nursery since late november and though they are lovely and kind i still feel sad worried about crazy stuff. if i knew they were careless like that id never go there again.

I am horrified nailak!

Doesnt matter if your ds is a bolter, they are supposed to have safeguards in place!

And to not even notice!

I am so shocked and angry. Report to ofsted and ask nursery what safeguards they are going to put in place in the interim (should you want your ds to still attend.)

Have you looked at their most recent ofsted report? Have they had any complaints before? I just dont like how they didnt even notice!

Nailak so sorry, you must have had a real shock. What are you thinking of doing about it now?

ok
yes they have just started accepting 2 year olds,
it is a pre school.

yes he probably tailgated an adult as other kids were leaving.

The ofsted is outstanding, that is why we can get free 15 hours for 2 year olds, however when the ofsted was done they were in a different building.

wondergate it seems similar to your story

The women who found him phoned me.

SO basically she had picked up her ds from a different nursery and was crossing the road (at a pedestrian crossing) which is at the front of the community centre, her ds was faffing around with an umbrella and she was concentrating on that while crossing the road and she saw a child "zooming" past on the other side of her, so she turned and saw a little boy,

she took her ds to the other side of the road then she saw the lights were changing at the same time realised it was my ds, and then she went on to the road and started screaming and telling the cars to not go as she was scared they wouldnt be able to see him as he is 2. The cars were all beeping and drivers shouting like wtf is this child doing without a mum on the main road.

She saw a random woman on the other side of the road so she shouted at her please hold that child, then once my ds had crossed she went back to her ds, waited for the lights to change again and crossed the road, and the woman was like "is this your child" and she said no i know the mum.
The after school club were lined up outside the centre and the playworker saw all of this too.

Then my friend waited as she thought he had run away from me, there were a lot of other nursery parents leaving the building and she thought i would be coming out, she didnt want to cause any issues for me, but then when i didnt come out she crossed back over. She saw some more women leaving the building.

When she got to the other side the playworker was talking to her saying how dangerous where is the mum etc, when one of the women leaving the building came and took ds's hand and said lets go inside and she realised it was a teacher.

SHe assumed something must have happened to me, and she still thought he had run away from me so she went in to the building, followed the teacher in to the nursery.

Then she saw the teacher go up to the manager and say there has been an incident Naila's ds has got out from the nursery. and shes like "what?" where is his mum?"

Do not in any way shape or form let them try to make out that it's your fault for not telling them he 'had form' he's two!. He is 100% their responsibility when he's there. I hope they take this very seriously. If they ask if it's happened before tell them it's irrelevant, because it is. Write down everything you want to say before you go and take notes while you're there as if you feel emotional, you might forget what they say (I would,I'm no good if I'm upset)

I would not take my child back and would report. That is a very, very serious failing, the most basic safety step is to know the kids can't get out.

This is not your fault and all two year olds have potential to wander/run off.

Dsis had this happen to her DS on his first day at nursery.

The second day she arrived the room had been fitted with new door locks etc. They took it very seriously.

I think it depends on what stance the nursery take, if they are proactive and willing to change their protocols / environment.

I also agreee that if your ds has form for this you should have at the very least warned them.

My DSIL did this when she was that age. Squeezed through a gap in the fence in the playground.

I hope you are able to get it sorted.

The school allowed my 5 yr old to leave at the end of the day.
When the after school club lady came to get him, they realised he had gone
Nobody followed correct procedure and they both waited to see if he would turn up.
He was leaving the school, distressed and frightened
He thought he'd been left behind

My friend found him a d took him back to school rdception who had no idea he had gone

One teacher lost her contract after this incident ( there were other complaints too)
But the after school woman was exonerated.
She still runs the club
We complained to the head teacher and weren't happy with the response
So we complained to the head of governors and weren't happy with the response
We took out children out of the school and got a place at another school

We left it at that with the first school. We wrote to them and told them we thought they were wrong to say there was no case to answer. We asked them to address the deficiencies in leadership and decision making and the poor policies. We said we were keeping copies of correspondence as evidence in case something similar happened

Nothing much has changed and the after school club apparently lose kids in a regular basis

I really really wish we had reported to the LEA and ofsted the first day. It should t have had to be up to us to manage the com

Complaint

I worry that a other child will get lost like mine and worse happen,
And we will feel that we let the school get away with such shoddy behaviour and are somehow implicated

I think you should report them to ofsted.
It is then out of your hands.

It is dreadful and frightening and I do feel for you.
I know how it feels to think your child could have been run over or abducted and the people who were meant to be looking after him be say down chatting

what do i say to ofsted?

Im confused why you didnt tell them unprompted.. but either way my child would not be going back there ever

[http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/early-years-and-childcare/for-parents-and-carers/how-complain]]

This is how to contact ofsted. You just need to tell the person that answers the phone everything you told us.

Grr!!

ofsted

I'm with everyone else, there's no way on earth a child of mine would be going back there, not now, not ever. This is a serious breach of safety. Please don't allow them to gloss over it or try and make it seem like it's somehow your fault that they let your precious child go walkies on it's own.

Put your complaint in writing to the nursery and Ofsted. Can your DC go somewhere else while all this is being sorted out - did you need the nursery for work reasons I mean?

Explain to ofsted exactly what happened, also put it in writing to them and send a written letter to the nursery, ours was also in the local paper.

That is awful! Them not knowing he has form for it doesn't really/matter. Every child should be monitored and accounteddor anyway!

I would be fuming if this happened.

You need to contact Ofsted as this was a serious child protection issue (i'm a childminder, if a child on my books wondered off without me noticing, i have to notify Ofsted within 14 days). I believe someone has provided you with a link above.

I personally wouldn't send my child back until the investigation has been carried out and you're satisfied with the changes they've made to the setting and to the way they carry out their risk assessments.

I bet your little one was having the time of his life off by himself (my DS used to bolt when we went to the park and he'd have the most blissful and cheeky 'i'm free!' face on!), but i hope he's ok and you resolve the issue with the nursery quickly.

It may have been helpful to mention he is a bolter, but the assumption in a nursery that accepts 2yr-olds should be that some will try to escape, and they should plan accordingly.

Definitely don't send him back until there's a satisfactory investigation. I'm not sure I would be satisfied with anything they could do if it were my child -- I would be too afraid (perhaps not entirely rationally) to send her back.

SubhanAllah Nailak, that's terrible, alhamdulillah for your fast thinking friend and that he is safe and sound. It's obviously 100% the responsibility of the nursery. I'm partly in agreement with the person who said to wait and see how the nursery react to it, but another part of me says never send him back there again!
I suppose your instincts will guide you.

OP please do not let the nursery blame you in any way for not telling them that your DS likes to run off.

The nursery should be secure for all children, regardless of whether they like to escape or they are happy to stay put.

Have you contacted OFSTED yet?

I went and talked to them a bit today

I asked them what form the investigation will take, but they said they couldnt tell me?

But they are checking CCTV, and have statements from the woman who was on the other side of the road, and the afterschool club worker, they have suspended a member of staff.

They said they are formulating a letter and will be contacting ofsted on Monday, so do I need to do this as well?

Yes my friend said he had a cheeky grin on his face, however she couldnt sleep all last night.

I had hoped he was over this stage of bolting, the last time he had done it was in august/september time....

Yes contact ofsted and complain. Just say you are making a complaint as they allowed your child to escape. They will then ask questions if they need more info.

Stop blaming your child, he is only 2, he should not have chance to get out.

He's a baby! For goodness sake , do not feel like you should have any blame or that he should.

Don't feel bad that he is a bolter my son was exactly the same, a bolter or no bolter when you leave your child in someone else's care you expect them to be safe and looked after. Also remember he is only 2 years old, he is very young and of course many children at this age ike to explore/run off.

It is not your fault. All 2 year olds in a nursery should be expected to bolt. If they don't it's a bonus!!! And even if he has done it at home, there is no reason why you should expect him to do it in an even more secure nursery.

I would also talk to whoever organised the 2 year project place for you. (It's the children's centres in my area) They need to know that they are placing children in a nursery where this has happened.

DD1 did this twice from her nursery when she was 2. The doors were locked, and they said she must have climbed out of the window, into the garden and over the fence. She was a climber and escaper, but they had one carer to four children, so you'd think she would have noticed.

The first time, we came to collect her early and found her walking down the road on her own (nursery was in large housing estate), so we stopped, picked her up, put her in the car and went back to tell nursery what had happened. Her carer hadn't even missed her. The head teacher was very apologetic, we gave them another chance and the same thing happened the next day (except DD1 had got further away!). We popped her in the car, I went in to "collect" her, and watched while her key worker had the horrible realisation that DD1 wasn't there. I let her shit herself a bit, and then calmly told her that we had found her wandering on the road again, and she was now safe in our car. Told the head teacher, and informed her that we were withdrawing DD1 immediately, informing the authorities, and we would like a refund of our fees which had been paid till the end of the term. We got our refund (after a fight) but I don't think anything was done to stop escaping children and the carer kept her job.

Complain to OFSTED. They are likely to report the incident themselves, but don't rely on this. Am not sure why they can't tell you what form the investigation will take, but it doesn't matter: they need to convince you, and ofsted, that a proper investigation was carried out.
2 year olds are unpredictable. They should ahve policies in place to ensure children cannot escape, as a basic policy.

Oh how frightening! My blood runs cold just reading the title of the thread. Your DS obviously had someone higher up watching over him and keeping him away from that busy road. Well done to the lady who was passing for safely catching him.

I'm with everyone else, you can't let him go back there until there has been changes made to stop it happening again. A complaint to OFSTED will ensure changes are made for the sake of all the other children there. Another child who escapes may not be as lucky as your DS.

yes, you need to report to ofsted aswell.

If they have just started taking 2year olds they may not have been completely up to speed with the wily ways of toddlers, but I bet they are getting it now! I would keep him away until they had put a plan in place. It is most likely he followed a parent through.

My ds escaped too. He built a ladder up the fence. Took him 3 weeks. They took photos and let him "escape" then showed me as evidence of his creativity and determination. It was one of the highlights of his nursery days. He sang happily all the way home.

I often worried about this at nursery as DS is a bolter. Especially when the door is open and parents are in/chatting to staff. It only takes a back turned for a minute! I wish they took them at the door really would be much safer than parents shuffling in and out the same room. I would change nurseries in your situation.

please do complain to the school and go higher if they dont do enough!

I do have to ask, like some of the others though, why didnt you mention to them he's an escapologist?

my 3yo dd is a bolter, if she see's an open door she's through it, and i made it damn clear to the nursery/pre-school that they needed to watch her like a hawk because of it!

I also find the fact they didn't ask you anything about him a bit strange.

When DD started nursery at about 20 months I had almost an inquisition about her.
What did she like to eat/not like to eat?
What times did she have food and milk?
How did she eat best? Strapped into a high chair, or was she used to sitting at a table with other people using a booster?
What times did she nap and how did she fall asleep best (with someone holding her, alone in a room in a cot)?
What did I do if she didn't doze off? How long did I try to get her to sleep for?
Who lived in the house with her (including pets) - so they knew something of what she might be telling them about and would recognise any names she mentioned?
What sorts of activities, games and toys did she like best?
What sorts of things were likely to upset her, or make her cry?
Were there any good 'tricks' to calm her down if she was upset (favourite toys, games, did she like being sung to or read to...)?

It was a fairly exhaustive list, but made me feel happy that she was going to be well looked after.
There'd have been ample opportunity for me to tell them that she had a tendency to try and escape. If all they wanted was to see a birth certificate that would now (after my experience) worry me. It's not as though a young child can tell you much about their routines and if they are not interested in knowing what he usually does, then that's not a great start.

And that's before you even get to allowing him to run off.

peppermint The childrens centre know, I talked to them straight away the same day, I think I am the only placement that is there, and I was sort of trialing it out for them, they are also in contact with the nursery and have been providing trainings etc for them. The manager was in the CC on the day he escaped.

There seems to be mixed feelings about wether it is my fault for not telling them or not.

shadenfreude what was the results of your complaints?

imaginethat your son sounds amazing! so does the nursery, I have thought before they are just expecting the 2 year olds to fit around the 3 and 4 year olds, lots of group time, teaching satpin and stuff, i thought with support if CC they might get better.

jelly they have two rooms with a courtyard in middle, so i might suggest they put kids in room furthest from door at pick up time.

Thank god your ds is ok. I wouldn't send him back there, and I would contact ofsted and just tell them what you have said here. Thank goodness he is ok.

There seems to be mixed feelings about wether it is my fault for not telling them or not.

Nope. Ideally they should know, but theres no excuses for letting a child escape. Absolutely not.

Thank god your ds is ok. I wouldn't send him back there, and I would contact ofsted and just tell them what you have said here. Thank goodness he is ok.

Sorry, double posting going on there.

Nailak, not you fault for not telling them. Don't most 2 year olds attempt running away if doors aren't locked?

It is sounding more and more like its not the right nursery for 2 year olds. Too easy to escape. My DD's nursery is like Fort Knox, and the door is answered personally by a member of staff, there are then 3 more doors before you get to any children. Parents don't generally go into the rooms with children, your child gets bought out to you. The member of staff stays with you until you have left the premises (with the right child only).

No, it is not your fault. You left him in the care of the nursery. They let him get onto a road. It is their fault.

There seems to be mixed feelings about wether it is my fault for not telling them or not

I just want to clarify my post. It is not in any way your fault that he escaped. You trusted the nursery and they should have robust measures in place to ensure no child can escape (or indeed, be in any significant danger at all)

Personally, I still think you should have told them more about him at 'settling in' (not to stop him from escaping, but just so they knew more about him) but it sounds like you didn't get much chance to do that. That in itself would have me questioning whether it is the right nursery or not.

It is not your fault.

In the first weeks we talked more about how his behaviour was at nursery rather then how it was before if that makes sense?

Not not your fault - in any way!

It has made me feel sick reading your post- that is absolutely appalling.

It doesn't bare thinking about what could have happened to your son. Thank god nothing did, but for me an investigation is just a load of bs- if something had happened what would you get? An apology?????

I personally would never send him back - I would complain to ofsted, local authority and the police. I would also tell EVERY other parent there, hand out flyers if necessary. They have a right to know how lax the practices are and another time a child may not be as lucky as yours. In my opinion they should be shut down and not able to put another child at risk.

wont Ofsted decide that? if they need to be shut down?

nailak - how are you?

the more i think about it the more scary it is!

the nursery emailed me and we are going to have a meeting tomorrow morning, I heard from one of the other parents that they have changed the pick up time procedure.

That's the shock lifting and the horror setting in... Ver scary indeed.

I know a lot of posters have come down v hard on the nursery but tbh I bet they feel absolutely sick about it and will be doing whatever they can to ensure it would never happen again.

There is also an element of other parents not being vigilant about checking no child is following them through. I see this all the time.

Ultimately you need to do what sits comfortably with you. If they are deeply apologetic and can show you the changes they have made, maybe you'll feel okay with that.

But if you have nagging doubts, listen to them.

All the best nailak

I really dont understand why you havent complained to ofsted already?

because i agree with imagine they have reported themselves, they suspended a member of staff immediately, they have changed the policy, they have checked tv and taken statements, I am satisfied that they will never make this mistake again and this incident will never leave them.

However I will go to meeting tomorrow and see if I feel the changes they have made are sufficient.

Youve taken their word they have reported themself to ofsted?

I hope they have.

You cannot assume they have reported themselves to OFSTED.

OFSTED need to know so that the incident is recorded, investigated and preventative measures put in place. It needs to be on record that this happened incase it ever happens again.

I think you should report to ofsted yourself, just to be certain it will be properly nevstigated.

Ok when I go to the meeting tomorrow I will ask them again about Ofsted and get them to show me a copy of the letter they sent to Ofsted. I seriously do not believe they are devious and are lying to me, or will lie to me.

To be honest, ANY child in a nursery should be regarded a potential escape artist. There should be procedures in place to ensure children cannot simply escape.

and i spoke to my mum, she said it is irrelevant if you told them at settling or not, he has been there since october, they should know his character by now.

I think though you have to accept they have a vested interest in minimising the incident, I am not sure you should be allowing them to lead on this. All it would take is a phone call to ensure this is properly investigated. I cannot understand why you wouldn't report something of this type.

When I reported an incident to Ofsted they said they welcomed all reports. "We all had to ensure that every parent had the confidence that their children were safe at school or nursery, and every report help Ofsted to ensure this."

Please call Ofsted.
The next child that escapes may not be as lucky as your child. And how will you feel then?

If they have taken this as a complaint and are following their complaints procedure they will have to tell Ofsted at their next inspection and demonstrate that they have put procedures in place to prevent it from happening again. They may well have chosen to tell Ofsted now. Many settings would choose to do this so they can show they are acting responsibly. It is better to be seen to have recognised a problem and dealt with it in Ofsted's eyes.

It sounds like they have implemented their complaints procedure but you may want to check this if you have not had a response in writing which says so.

We had two serious incidents, though different in nature with DS's nursery. With both we were speaking to CSSIW (ofsted equivalent) straight away. I'd class this as a pretty major incident, and I would speak to them yourselves.
They register the nursery, they are responsible for ensuring that they have policies, safety equipment, correct staffing etc and need to know about this. The nursery will do their own investigation, which should be shared with you and ofsted, and if you're not happy you can formally complain to ofsted.
However, I'd be speaking to the relevant ofsted inspector, who may we decide that more urgent action needs to be taken.

I think you should report it too, whatever they say. Your child should not have been able to escape. They should have noticed. If it was me, there would be no going back and I would find another nursery.

It's not your fault or your child's fault. What if he had been run over? It's very serious. I would be telling other parents too, if they asked me why I had moved my child.

you say move your child like there are places to move him to! the choice would be between keeping him at home and sending him to nursery.

nailak don't worry about the knee jerk responses. There is no guarantee that your ds would never escape from the mythical other nursery. Nor should it be assumed the nursery has not taken the incident very gravely.

They should be talking to you, keeping you fully informed and you should come away feeling as though you are all on the same side. I bet they area watching your son like a hawk in addition to the extra safety measures.

What does come out of your observations though is that possibly the 2yos need more toddler specific activities. They should not be expected to sit or focus for the same length of time as 3 & 4 y os. They need small play equipment and lots and lots of language exchange opportunities.

Smaller play equipment

After talking to them, they seem to think the staff member is totally at fault, and despit changing the way things happen at pick up times, they are not accepting how kids leave the nursery should be specified in the procedures and since it wasn't and the way they allowed it to occur meant that the confusion was able to happen that the management are in anyway at fault.

They do accept there should be more opportunity to talk about child at settling, however don't accept failure to do so led to incident.

Yikes. So they made a scapegoat and have no procedure, and therefore no mechanism for training staff to follow it, and are happy that a potentially fatal mistake is not worth their time to make sure it won't happen again with your child or anyone else's.

Time for OFSTED you have no choice. Talk to them yourself. You may save a life!

I don't think that is acceptable.

It has happened once. They are getting a second chance and should be grabbing it with both hands and putting measures in place to prevent it from happening again.

What is to stop it happening again if keeping children safe is not set out clearly for staff? One person has got it wrong and they are just going to hope it doesn't happen again?

I think you need to call Ofsted and make sure they know this information.

Are you comfortable with that? It sounds very woolly. How do you feel when you leave your child now?

Are you using the nursery because you are at work? It really doesn't sound good. You need to contact ofsted yourself. If you are working, aren't there any local childminders you could use instead?

nailak - this is not your fault for not mentioning he has "form" for this sort of thing - pre-schools should expect all children to behave like this, and ensure it's not possible to do a runner. Little people are very unpredictable!

My DS was a runner, and I never mentioned it to nursery or school. He was in Y3 before he escaped, and that was because the school was not secure. The school I moved him to was ridiculously secure with 12 foot fences all around the premature, and an inter-com system to enter the grounds.

i mean they are considering writing it in the procedures now that i mentioned it, that it should be, and they have changed the actual pick up time way things happen in practice, but it is not written down,

when i questioned this they phrased it as "we could put how parents collect their kids in the procedure" not that it should be in the procedure, in the procedure now is basically signing in and out if that makes sense.

i have kept him home this week, and am planning on keeping him until investigation is finished.

After talking to them today I have decided I will call Ofsted tomorrow, and am glad I waited as I now know exactly what I want to ask ofsted about.

i am not working, he has so much energy that i thought nursery would be good for him, the past 3 days he has been really hyper at home!

I also had planned driving lessons, trainings, language classes and stuff in the time he was at nursery. But I guess it can wait.

i phoned them, so what do they do now? Ofsted I mean.

They will contact the setting if they are not already in touch with them, either by phone or letter, and ask for their account of the event. If they feel reassured that the setting has taken appropriate action they may leave matters until the next scheduled inspection. If they still have concerns they will visit the setting and look into this matter in more detail as well as taking a general look around to see that everything else is in order.

If they feel the setting needs to make changes it will be recorded in the inspection report and checked at the next visit.

It's a shame they didn't see fit to tell you that themselves when you called.

they said i would get a letter...

I had a similar incident with my ds at his nursery. It was a few years back now but I remember the horror and the knee jerk reaction of pulling him out of the nursery and thinking about all the what ifs .However his nursery did a full investigation, staff seem horrified, changes were made and I put him back into the nursery.

thats good to know!

I have just read this and am horrified that the nursery allowed your son to escape and now seem to be taking very little responsibility for that and are leaving the possibility open that the same thing could happen again. More generally, how can they not have any settling-in procedure where they gather information about your child? Suppose your child had allergies? How do they know whether a child is toilet-trained? All in all, this does not sound like a good childcare setting.

they asked me to leave his nappy, and that was about it lol

When DS1 was 3 he and two friends escaped from the garden of nursery into the field behind. They were "recaptured" within minutes. When I collected him I was informed straight away what had happened by the very apologetic manager. The lovely carer for their room was in still tears hours later - I had to console her.

It didn't happen again.

nailak they should ask a lot more than for you to leave his nappy. At my children's nursery there is a long-winded form to fill in all about the child to help nursery staff get to know them quickly. Then there are photos with the family, the key-worker, and a page about the child's favourite people, toy, foods etc. Then there are 2 settling days; the parent stays for the first day so they can become acquainted with routines and feel free to ask any questions. The 2nd day the parent can leave the child and the staff write up a report on how the child's day panned out. Then again after their first week, with lots of conversation each day. This, I believe, is a genuine approach to caring for your child. Just so you know what sort of care is out there.

yeah they didnt give a keyworker until i asked.... they tried to tell me they let the kids choose their own keyworker...but i could stay as much as i wanted, still can if he is unsettled.

My dd2s nursery is amazing, and I thought maybe it was an unfair comparison comparing an independant preschool to a state nursery and childrens centre.....

hmm well it's great that you have experienced a really great nursery. Can't he go there too?

maybe it was an unfair comparison comparing an independant preschool to a state nursery and childrens centre.....

I'm a registered child minder and accept state funding. I am 100% confident that I can offer just as good quality care as any other, however they get their money. It's the staff that make the difference.

It's also been mentioned that they may be getting used to catering for 2 year olds. Not good enough excuse in my opinion. For a start, most of the staff should be qualified with an NVQ or equivalent. The childcare level 2 and 3 qualifications do not focus on one age! They cover birth to eight, or birth to sixteen, so they will have been trained in how to care for this age group. Secondly, 2 year olds arent that different from 3 year olds! They should have had appropriate security in place for their 3 year olds anyway. The worst bolter I cared for was 6 years old!

Keyworker system - are you aware that this is not optional. The early years foundation stage 2012 states that there must be a keyworker assigned to each child. I would mention this, as his key worker should have known where he was.

And as for it all being one member of staffs fault and the management not taking responsability! Dont get me started...!!!!!

He can't go to my dds nursery as they don't take 2 year olds.

The ofsted report is good, I just read it, it italks about special books and new parents info packs, i never got any of that!!!

Better at home than a nursery that doesn't keep him safe, surely? He is too young for free places so couldn't you find a childminder until he is old enough to go to your dd's nursery?

/8520no he is not too young for free places, as in our borough 2 year olds whose families get family tax credits above basic element are elegible for 15 free hours. I can take these hours at outstanding childminders though. That is something I haven't considered and may work. I will talk to childrens centre on Mon. Thank you.