Evacuation cot falling on my petit 1 year old daughter!!!

[xProudMummy01x]

Hi,
My daughter started nursery last Aug 7 and half months and goes 2 full days a week and settled in fine and I went back to work full time. She's very advanced and was already crawling and pulling herself up and walking round furniture etc
There has been teething problems and I have had a meeting with the manager and then I was constantly receiving phone calls every time see went informing me she had bumped her head I'm sure it was about 5/6 times in a row. Then when I collected her one day they told me she had an accident with the door (the door which is alway shut and can only be opened by staff authorising people in and out the baby room) I questioned how she herself had an accident with a closed door to them replying a staff member walked in the room and didn't notice her and the door hit her- there is a massive sign on the door saying do not enter, please knock and await for someone to one. They were very apologetic and admitted it was there fault so I let that go as she had no bruising and did not seem to have been affected by it in anyway. Then it happened again 2 weeks later in which my response wasn't as nice as its blately obviously that her key person surely isn't watching her and due to the carelessness of there staff who clearly cannot read or follow simple instructions it has resulted in my daughter getting hit in the face with the door and now bruising across her nose. Again they admitted fault and all staff had been re informed and extra procedures put in place to prevent it from happening again. Then it was Xmas so the nursery was closed. I received a call on Friday saying my daughter has fell and a evacuation cot had fell on top of her- (she has just turned 1 and has been walking since November) now I didn't no what a evacuation cot was until I googled it! They stated she had an egg shape on her forehead and bruising and a red mark on the back of her head.......... I was so confused as obviously ur in work and u get a call like that- how, why, when.
How-they were unsure, why-they were unsure and when- 45 mins before they called me as they called there manager beforehand as is she is off Friday's! Am I right in thinking this is all wrong! they informed me she was absolutely fine and playing away and had a cold compress to her head and that she was just to go out on the bus for some fresh air. I asked her to call me back in an hour with an update - by this time I had left work and took the call and informed them I would be with them in 10mins. I get there and the manager is there. Bottom line is my baby girl has a massive lump on her forehead and bruises on her forehead and across the bridge of her nose and bruises on the back off her head by her crown.
The manager admitted fault and informed me exactly of what I was thinking that she didn't fall over and it then fell on her- it had fell and knocked her over and wiped her clean out! She is very petit and small in height and the size of the thing is at least double in height. I had may questions and the response I got was- she was in a forbidden area in the baby room when the evacuation cot fell on her (again no one watching her, how did she get in a forbidden area- safety regulations obviously not being met. They are unsure how it has fell on her as she couldn't of pulled it as it weighs to much so are sending back to the manufactures and when they found her she was on her front with it on top of her! When the found her?! Am I right in thinking it should never of been the case when you found her as you should always have your eyes on her! I asked surely it should be attached to the wall so easy in which the replied no- I have searched the cot and it comes with Velcro straps for it to be strapped to a wall!! I understand that this is unacceptable, negligence and health and safety requirements not being met and this nursery was reported outstanding from ofsted in 2014! She loves it at the nursery and can't wait to get there but the constant issues, I as her mummy need to put her first and her safety first. The last few incidents have not even been caused by my daughter herself but by the carelessness of the staff and getting more serious each time- you would think they would be more alert as of how many incidents have occurred but obviously not! I'm in limbo on what to do as I am aware accidents happen and bumps and bruises but it's different when your child isn't the one responsible for them. Anyone who reads my essay lol what would you do? Surely they have breeched numerous procedures and policies and these incidents should never have happened in the first place. I have arranged a meeting for Tuesday with the manager- do I express all my concerns and keep my daughter there as she is settled or do I just inform them I am removing her with immediate effect and uproot her????

[GiddyOnZackHunt]

If you aren't happy with their standard of care then remove her. You can deal with complaining separately.

[ThomasRichard]

If she was knocked unconscious then she needs to see a doctor as soon as possible. They should have called an ambulance TBH.

They sound negligent and I would report them to OFSTED. My children went to nursery and got all sorts of bumps and bruises but from entirely normal things that are unavoidable with children who are learning to walk/play together/share/explore. There was always a full explanation and steps were taken to avoid a recurrence where possible.

I know it's difficult when you need to be at work but I would also start looking at alternative childcare.

[hufflebottom]

Report to ofsted and look for somewhere else.

She's young enough to settle somewhere else and should settle easily.

[xProudMummy01x]

I am new to all this and probably have let things slid more so because of this and that she's so happy there.

But you all right in what you are saying, I just worry she might not settle in a new place and there isn't another nursery round us that has all the out door land and activities - one of the main reasons we picked this nursery.
My husband is livid and wants to take her out also. I know it's the right thing to do and will start looking for another nursery. Thanks for your opinions and advice- really appreciate it x

[xProudMummy01x]

Oh and she wasn't unconscious my apologises it's just my wording!! as I meant it floored her completely x

[Ditsy4]

I used to work in nurseries. I wouldn't be happy I'm afraid it doesn't seem like they are caring enough for your daughter. They should have advised you to take her to hospital to be checked. Was she knocked out? Definitely take her if she was. They should have rung you first then the Manager. I would want to know how many are qualified and to what level? Why procedures aren't being followed re the door? Look at the incident book every incident should be written down. Ask about the key worker. Perhaps a different key worker will be more vigilant but if she was my child I think I would be moving her.

[Ditsy4]

Make a list of questions and take with you on Tuesday and make sure you get answers to them all. This will help you decide.

[MissWimpyDimple]

I would be livid too. It's totally unacceptable for these incidents to keep happening.

I can understand an isolated accident but your daughter has sustained bruising more than once and it's completely their fault.

Inform ofsted and take her out. Make sure you get your deposit back too as I'm willing to bet that it doesn't come back easily.

I know I let things slide when mine was little as I was new to the "childcare" thing but this is unacceptable

[Blerg]

I would worry too - it sounds like a lot of incidents over a short time. If these things are able to happen I would wonder about what other things they are missing / level of general supervision.

[TiggyD]

Slight staff issue, but the door should have a window so people coming in can see behind it. Management issue.

Velcroed cot to the wall would have helped, but she should not have been able to access an off limits area. Staff issue.

Ofsted grade is meaningless. It's one day every 4 years when staff are really concentrating.

[insancerre]

I manage a nursery and would be very concerned about these incidents
I would not be happy at being called on my day off or having to go in and deal with their mistakes
If you want to take her out, then make sure you put it in writing
Ask for their complaints procedure, they have to have one by law. You can still complain even if you taker her out
What I would be implementing as manager, is a robust policy and procedure to ensure these sorts of incidents couldn't happen again
The door needs a window or it needs replacing with a door with a window. Or they need to look at how they can keep the babies away from the door.
The cot needs to be easily accessible in an evacuation but it needs to be stored safely. Maybe they need to do a new risk assessment and have it checked on a daily basis to ensure it is safe
Is this art of a chain, can you take it higher?
These are very serious incidents and the fact that they have that notice on the door suggests that other babies have been injur d by people opening the door.
Good luck and please don't let them fob you off and report back on how you get on

[xProudMummy01x]

Thank you all for your comment I appreciate them all so much!

The door believe it or not does have Windows 2 vertical slim rectangles on the right hand side of the door as you walk upto the door- one at the bottom of the door and one at the top- which does in fact draw the children to the door as they can peak out and look down the corridor. And it still happens- I personally think they need to change the door completely and just have a large window at the top of the door.

The girls there are all lovely and she is so settled but I just don't think I trust them anymore to ensure the safety of my daughter so much has happened now and still unexplained and I would never forgive myself if she stayed and another incident happened again, being even more serious when I already knew she has had accidents. I just wanted to know other people's opinions as I didn't no wether I was over reacting.

My babygirl is my life and all your comments above agree with what I am thinking and what needs to be done.

I will most certainly not allow them to fob me off, I will also inform ofsted of the incidents too.

I will keep u all updated - thanks again

[xProudMummy01x]

Oh I forgot to say no it's not a chain, it's independent nursery