To consider suing nursery

[atatotalloss4]

I have a beautiful little girl, she is 2 years old and has been in nursery for 8 months. She's come on ever so well and people often comment how well she speaks and lovely manners, I give much of the credit of this to the nursery.

However, there was an incident last week that has left her on antibiotics with a large open sore on her inner thigh. I won't post pictures because they are frankly upsetting but I'll detail how it happened.

8-9 children with 3 (youngest members of staff) went to a park for a picnic, about a 10 minute walk from the nursery. My child had a full well nappy upon arrival, the didn't change her. She then soiled her nappy which leaked considerably, onto her back and thighs. They didn't want to end the trip early for the other children so kept my child in this state for around an hour. Then made her walk back to nursery. This caused the full nappy to fall down and rub her thigh, resulting in this horrible sore. It's about the size of my palm and the GP was aghast at how bad it is. She has been unable to sleep because she can't get comfy, the antibiotics are causing her an upset tummy and she is utterly reluctant to walk resulting in a sort of waddle then she asks to be carried.

The leggings she was in were sent home and they are in an awful state, you can also see how bad they are on picture they uploaded to the nursery app whilst out.

I wasn't contacted about this, nor told at pick up, I found out when I changed her at home and saw the state she was in.

Apparently the staff involved have been given a formal warning and it seems that's that.

Would I be ridiculous to chase this up legally? I'm heartbroken my tiny innocent child was treated with such contempt, it's heartbreaking hearing her cry and unable to walk.

Someone please just give me an outside perspective because im so sad for her im no longer sure if im even thinking straight about it. Thank you x

Omgoodness your poor baby that sore looks horrible!!! Much worse than what I was expecting poor mum and baby!

I’m not sure suing will help but definitely local government, council, media, Facebook this is as another pp said neglect and very bad neglect too!

Hope she recovers v quickly poor duck

Seriously everyone, she's in NI, we don't have Ofsted here. RTFT and stop suggesting it.

OP that photo is horrific. One of mine did get a small burn from a horrible nappy once so I knew what it would like like but never would have guessed it would be so large or so far down her leg. The poor thing must be in agony.

OP so sorry for all of the stress and worry you and your little one must be feeling right now. I hope you get it sorted with being able to hold them to account.

If you come close to considering a daycare again, feel free to DM me as I’m Belfast based and more than confident to recommend my daughters nursery.

It’s a chain so there are a few throughout Belfast and and have had nothing but a great experience with them over the last 3 years (she’s been going since she was under 1). I think the advantage of them being a chain means that they are never understaffed as they can each support other branches if some are sick for example, and whilst there are young staff there, there are also multiple staff who have been at the nursery for 10-20 years. Staff have also sent their kids there, with some who currently send their kids there too which I think is also a good sign. The younger staff in my experience have always been caring and so attentive, genuinely love their job (they are in tears when the little ones move up!). Management are also very good with updates, staff have ongoing training (they publish when their staff complete extra courses) and they have excellent well above living wage pay to attract and retain staff. It’s definitely one of the more expensive nurseries from my experience but I can see the benefits when compared with friends / colleagues etc who have had various complaints about theirs too.

Oh OP .

yes council for the LA who will pass to a LADO (local authority designated officer) and OFSTED.

I’ve just read you are in NI

is it the ETI then?

Just seen picture. That is horrible. U definitely need to take this further. Ur poor wee one x

Thats awful OP!
Ring ofsted and report it to them today!
I would be absolutely heartbroken if that happened to my child!

Yes that's a good point actually and I should have said earlier, but part of why I'm so upset was that no one called me during the day. They stripped her off and had her running round with nothing on her lower half in hopes it would calm down quickly I think, and then at handover not a thing was mentioned.

I noticed straight away she was unsettled and not her usual happy self.

I put her in the car seat and I shudder now because she was crying and crying and so upset and I didn't know why but the straps must have been pushing between her legs.

When we got home I thought maybe she's over tired, I'll give her a lovely bubble bath (just about her favourite thing!) and get her in pyjamas before dinner so she can go down quickly after she's eaten.

Imagine my horror stripping her off for a bath to see that! I was so utterly sure the nursery would have said something that I didn't even call them right away, I went out to the car to check the seat! I thought maybe it's rubbed her, were there chemicals left on it from me washing it the other day? A spider in her seat that's bitten her? I went through every stupid possibility before it dawned on me this must have happened at nursery.

That looks very sore.

I’m glad you’ve realised suing is not the way to go. There has been no loss. But I hope Ofsted and the LA take this seriously.

I'm so sorry for your daughter's injury and the distress this has caused to you all. It's awful when you put trust in someone else to care for your child and they let you down so profoundly.

The issue here is the nursery hiring staff who are at worst, negligent, and at best, not adequately trained. There may also have not been a high enough ratio of adults to children on the trip to the park, which made it logistically difficult to do 1:1 care while out and about. These are all issues that will be picked up by a social services or Ofsted equivalent inspection, which will force the nursery to put in place better training and procedures, otherwise they will be closed down.

The nursery have already self reported to social services, which shows they are taking it seriously. They have acknowledged fault and have disciplined the member of staff involved. It is up to them to decide the proportionate discipline for the staff member, not you - while you may feel it is not harsh enough, you don't know the circumstances and the nursery doesn't have to tell you this as their internal procedures will be subject to GDPR with regard to the employee's privacy. There's not really anything more the nursery can do at this point to remedy what has happened - they're going through the appropriate channels in self reporting and disciplining, and they have fully acknowledged fault - and I don't know what you think seeing a solicitor or suing them will achieve beyond this, other than potentially a small amount of financial compensation, which will probably not be worth the time and effort spent on the legal process.

I would contact social services and whatever the NI equivalent of Ofsted is, to ensure they conduct an inspection ASAP and also have your side of the events as the parent. Your focus should be on ensuring that the nursery becomes a safe place for children to be, and going through these channels will lead to that outcome much more effectively than suing the nursery as an individual.

I hope your daughter heals quickly.

Would it be possible to raise something for loss of earnings through the small claims court?

Oh your poor little girl!! Totally unacceptable. I hope the nursery puts some real change in place as a result to make sure they manage things much better for the other children who attend.

I would also add from your update, OP, that the staff members clearly had absolutely no idea that a wet nappy could cause such an injury. The fact they thought it would calm down on its own and wasn't serious enough to mention to you shows that.

The nursery are employing staff who are not adequately trained in childcare and this needs to be explicitly stated to the authorities. Make sure you include all this information when you report them.

op that looks so painful and i’m upset for you and your little girl. That’s really terrible neglect from the nursery, I’m so angry on your behalf that they failed to phone you and even worse, failed to tell you at pick up so you’re left to discover that. There is no way that would have calmed down by the end of the day.

I fully understand why you had to change your hours, I’d be the exact same as you and wouldn’t want to put her in childcare again. When you bring this up to the council you need to labour this point that the actions of the nursery have really impacted your faith in the childcare sector. Obviously lots and lots of nurseries wouldn’t have left this and would have changed her outside. However, I do fully appreciate that it’s put you off leaving her just now.

Sorry if I missed it in any of the updates, but was the nursery manger aware of what happened (as you say it was under the supervision of three younger staff) or was it only when you complained did the situation come to light ?

She was aware for 5 hours between them returning at 12pm and me picking her up at 5pm. It was seemingly her idea to strip her off and let it "air out" 🤦🏻‍♀️

She also said it she told the girls to tell me at pick up and seemed annoyed it hadn't been passed on. Just failings all the way down at every turn, each decision was a bad one from everyone involved.

@atatotalloss4 I’ve sent you a PM. This is just an awful thing to happen your daughter.

i think in NI you can report this to https://belfasttrust.hscni.net/service/early-years/

That's a huge breach of trust OP

It is horrific that this happened to your child, I am so sorry OP.

The fact that they didn't tell you at pick up, or even complete any sort of form to acknowledge the issue is very concerning. Sounds like the manager was aware and hid from you... With an incident so serious I would have expected a phone call from the manager and also for them to meet with you in person when you arrived to collect her.

Absolutely shameful.

Ex-nursery manager here. OP, report the nursery yourself to your Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) who are the safeguarding team responsible for ensuring the safety of children from the adults who work with them. Also self-report to Ofsted and put in a written formal complaint to the nursery.

You should have had a phonecall from a senior member of staff at least or even the manager when it was discovered and the manager should have been present at handover. An accident form should have been completed as she has suffered an injury while under nursery care and you should have been asked to sign it - was this done?

Ask to see the paperwork for the outing including the risk assessment. The paperwork should show which staff member was in charge on the outing. This is important as although you have described them as young staff members, it's their qualifications that matter. An outing has to have a level 3 or higher in charge and out with them. They must have paediatric first aid. The ratio of level 3's or higher has to be more than 50% than the number of level 2s - so for example 1 level 3 can't go for a walk with two level 2s. Also, for the age group, the ratio of staff to children goes down to ensure they are cared for properly, so for babies it drops from 1:3 to 1:2 and for 2 year olds from 1:4 to 1:3. Please check all these procedures were followed.
Also, the paperwork should show that they had someone to co tact back at the nursery if there is an issue or injury - did they do that?

I work in a nursery and we go out on walks all the time. Our policy states that if a child has a soiled nappy, we return immediately to the setting, to change them. It's unacceptable that your Daughter was left in that state for an hour. I would contact the manager and ask for an outcome that your satisfied with or tell them you'll be informing Ofsted. I'm not sure I'd let my Daughter return to the nursery to be honest.

I agree with the person up thread who said that this is a safeguarding issue. Even if she had gone out in a dry nappy she still would have been sore if left in faeces for the whole outing and they should have changed her.

Please report this to OFSTED it is serious neglect. My son was once burned at nursery because the caretaker had cleaned thr toilet seats at lunchtime and there was bleach left on them, he admired it straight away and was so remorseful that I didn't take it further but what has happened to you is more than a mistake and it sounds as of they have let incompetent staff go out with small children.

This is very saddening! I am a childcare provider and it angers me when I hear of this behaviour.

I think your best option would be to inform ofsted and pull your child’s place and maybe get a refund for the term as you shouldn’t have to pay.

OP, I havent seen the photos, but it sounds horrendous.

Please check you have the correct information before complaining to the NI equivalent of Ofsted.

You need to get your point across, not have it obscured by incorrect facts.

The ratios and qualifications detailed in the quoted post and not right for England, and I have no idea for NI.
Don't let such a horrible incident get sidetracked by you not having the correct information.
I hope she recovers quickly, poor thing.