DS came home from nursery sunburnt to f**k. AIBU?

[MamaBear89]

Hi there. Long time lurker, first time poster.
Yesterday, my son went to nursery. I dropped him off around 8am and went to pick him up at 5:30 as usual.
When I went to pick him up I immediately noticed he was heavily sunburned.
I coat him in factor 50 when I dress him in the morning, and (as per the nursery's rules) I send my son in with a sun hat and a bottle of sun lotion.
The woman working at the time said "oh, I don't know how he got that burned as it's been really cloudy, and so we haven't bothered applying lotion".
Not only that, but for the final hour/90 minutes of the nursery day, during which my son was inside, the nursery worker admitted that they had "watched his burn get worse and worse". Obviously, as with any burn, sunburn will continue to burn and needs immediate cooling and treatment, but this was not given.
My son was so severely burned that he's had a raging fever for the last 24 hours, is in pain with his burns, and is suffering from sunstroke. He's miserable and cuddly and very grumpy, which is understandable.
I'm absolutely livid. My son loves nursery, though, and is due to stay there until he starts nursery at the local primary in September. It would break his heart if I just pulled him out until September, so I don't want to just pull him out and be done with them, but I'm absolutely livid at the sheer negligence they've shown.

My intention is to inform the nursery that I'll be making a complaint to the LEA and then following through with this.

AIBU by being so angry? Or would you agree it's justified?
And AIBU by taking the complaint to higher authorities, or should I just let the nursery deal with it?

Any input would be greatly appreciated

There is a horrible inevitability about threads like this every year, as soon as the weather turns hot. We have the kind of climate in the UK where some summers, there is hardly any need for sunscreen at all and others where we get a burst of intense heat - like the past two days - and people are taken by surprise. Staff training in nursery has to prepare staff in protecting children against sunburn well before there is a possibility of it happening. Just as staff are constantly reminded throughout the year regarding matters of hygiene, safety inside, security of handovers etc, there should be a set of protocols regarding sun safety which is just as familiar. Childcare staff shouldn't have to stop and think about sun protection: it should be ingrained, first in basic training and then continue to be emphasised on a permanent, ongoing basis. Knowledge regarding protecting children from sun damage is not just an "add-on" for a couple of months of the year - it is a vital part of ensuring children's long-term health.

Not to mention young children need to be kept in the shade & out of the heat to avoid sun stroke and dehydration.

They should have seen there was an issue as soon as he looked at all pink and acted then as a medical situation

Will you come back and update OP? I think it would be interesting to see how far this will be seen as neglect by nursery, and what action will be taken. Also, do speak to the other parents. You will have more clout if several children have been affected. I hope your little boy is feeling better now.

They did not follow their own protocol. They did not follow standard childcare procedure or even common sense. They are negligent in their care. There could be long lasting detrimental effect for your child.

You are clearly NOT being unreasonable and this should be followed up and reported. If they had spilt boiling water on him or allowed him to spill it on himself there would have been uproar - why is this any different.

frankbough

The worst burn I had didn't even blister for about a week. You cannot see the 'scar' most of the time because I'm pale skinned, but if I do get some colour you can see the white scar tissue.

frank my mother got burnt once a year, every year growing up because her own mother thought it was good for kids to spend hours in the sun with no protection as long as it was on holiday. She died last year from skin cancer. I would love to tell you exactly what she looked like after the melanoma had done its business...but it would hardly be fair on the OP or anyone else on this thread.

My advice to everyone is to prevent burning whenever possible (because you are bound to get it wrong a few times and you don't want to add to those) and to continue being vigilant about dubious moles.

frank. Are you actually for real. Have you heard yourself. Have you heard what you sound like.
I don't pray very often, but tonight I'll pray that you're not a medic.
Hope your little one is doing okay, op

Frank is just trawling for effect. Ignore

Trawling not trolling....I'm not hunting. Throw a couple of outrageous statements in and watch the ensuing response

I'd like to hear from OP

I'm an ex nursery nurse and would never have allowed this to happen. Complain, complain, complain. Poor wee fella.

Any update OP?