Nursery went home and left dd!

[lookingfortheanswer]

Posting here for traffic, I don't have an aibu.

Went to pick up dd from nursery this afternoon and found the whole place locked up and nobody there. After frantically calling, banging on doors, checking nobody else had picked her up we managed to contact the neighbouring school. The staff who were still there were amazing, helped us to get into the building where we found dd on the toilet, on her own, lights off and doors closed, staff gone home. It took us half an hour to get in so she was there at least that long. She was obviously very upset but is now home and fine and drinking lemonade as a treat while I try to stop shaking.

Obviously this is a huge safeguarding issue and there is no way she is going back. The head of the neighbouring school has been in touch and is organising a meeting for the morning.

Any advice on where to go from here, who to complain to? Should we get legal advice? I am so so angry!

Normally i just lurk on threads like this and think yeah thats a bit shit, and go on my merry way.

But JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!! I cannot imagine the sheer bloody terror of turning up to collect ur child and it all being closed up! How did you think you needed to get in? Was it to find numbers for the manager etc? This is so horrendous, the one place you trust is keeping your child safe.... Awful

I would tell her what a sensible girl she was today keeping herself safe, and how proud you are of that.

Bloody hell, that's terrible!

Call Ofsted and anyone else relevant.

Do not let them attempt to brush this under the carpet.

I'm appalled and really angry on your behalf!

It would be hard to restrain oneself from going around the nursery manager's house and letting rip, methinks.

If they are not interested they can tell you and if they are or log it....then GREAT

I'm not sure that this is a police matter tbh.

Is it a LA nursery?

This could have been DS1's old nursery - one the same site as a school with shared caretaker, most children finished at 5 but an extra hour 5-6 where all the kids are handed over to late staff in a separate room.

Presumably if the school had a key they would also have a number for the nursery management? I would have thought you would have had a call by now as this is such a huge thing to have happened

I think the police would advise you to talk to the local authority designated officer if you did contact them. They are the person to whom all safeguarding concerns regarding settings and carers should be directed. Their name and number should be available on the local authority website.

I realise that this is probably minor in the grand scheme of what happened, but as everyone has already pointed out the rather huge main safeguarding issues.... my question would be why she was alone in the toilets anyway, at age 2? My DDs both went through full-time nursery from an early age and I'm well aware that staff accompany them to and from the toilets - usually in groups.

Someone has fucked up majorly here and you (as I image you will) need to keep roaring until someone's head has rolled.

My friend regularly picked her DD up at 5.30 and she was the last there. So it wouldn't be unusual for a nursery that closed at 6 to be ahutt up by 5.30.

That really is terrible. Glad your DD is recovering.

Just 2! poor poor thing.

She's 2. I rarely swear... But fucking hell!

Again though. Why did you assume she was there and not elsewhere and call the police?

But....last question.....wasn't there a burglar alarm? Didn't your DD set it off or did you when you broke in?

I would expect that they have an alarm hard wired to the police or the burglar alarm company. How odd if they didn't or forgot to set it

Annie - depends where the toilet is, surely? If it's off the main room then toilet trained children don't need to be taken in groups.

Holy bloody fucking hell
Good to know that your DD is ok now
I would love to hear what the nursery manager has to say tomorrow. And I agree with others that ofstead needs to hear about this.
Can someone else look after your DD tomorrow morning so that you can go fucking mental at them?

I'm not sure that this is a police matter tbh

Yes we dont know do we, so she can call the non emergency switch and ask them

How can it NOT be a police matter.
They locked a 2 year old up in a building and left her there alone !!

Gobbolino - the caretaker unlocked it for them, they didn't break in.

Why wouldn't a 2 year old be using the toilet by themselves?

Have you contacted the nursery manager yet? I really think he/she needs to know. Something has gone seriously wrong this evening and it needs a heads up before tomorrow's session. Glad your dd is fine.

Did none of them accompany a two year old to the toilet?

Gentle reminder - troll hunting is against MN guidelines. If you don't believe a thread, just don't post and report to MNHQ.

TheScience - true enough, at the nurseries/preschools mine went to the toilets were off down corridors so I didn't think of that.

I think the police would advise you to talk to the local authority designated officer if you did contact them

I dont know why people are scared of calling the police, just call them op tell them what happened they will know what to do.