Hi All,
I hope this is the right place to post this thread and I hope you can offer me some good advice.
My DD, aged 3 attends the local council run nursery. I was lucky to get her a place there as its the best in the area and places are highly sought after. It has an excellent reputation.
The thing i loved about it most was the teachers are all a little older and are all parents themselves. They are all highly trained and qualified and left 100% confident in their abilities and that my DD was safe, loved and secure.
ANYWAY.... on Thursday they were out playing after lunch, the children were all brought back inside.... apart from my daughter. They forgot about her and left her in the playground. She was 'hiding' apparently. Anyway, she was outside on her own for about 10 mins, until a member of staff found her.
The gates to the playground are closed and locked with a sliding bolt so kids cant escape. But they are not locked and so my mind is going crazy thinking an adult could have taken her. Also, what if the bolt wasn't done and she had manage to wander out into the street.
Not to mention, that for those 10 mins, she was scared and alone. That in itself is bad enough.
On the Thursday my OH picked her up from nursery and the senior teacher explained briefly to him what happened, but it wasn't until he got home he realised the severity of it. I spoke the the senior teacher on the Fri morning, and was confident leaving her for a few hours. OH collected her again on the Fri and again spoke to the senior teacher.
Its only now I have had time to mull it over and talk about it with my Mum, that anger is replacing shock! Im amazed firstly that the head teacher hasnt been to speak to us. And i dont know what to do next.
Im shocked and angry, but those feelings have had taken few days to sink in. Perhaps I shouldnt have left her on Friday? I have until now trusted them completely with the most precious thing in my life. And although im confident that it wont happen again, I feel that I should do something more than accept their apology.
Do the other parent have a right to know? Should I report it to the care commission? Or should I accept their word its a one off and allow them to rebuild my confidence? I dont want to rock the boat too much, as I still hope that its the best nursery and the mistakes of one person should not cause the whole nursery problems.
Im disappointed in the headteacher not talking to us, and I plan on speaking with her on Monday but im so confused about it all I dont know where to start. What do I ask? What do I want to hear from her? And how do I proceed? My head is in a spin!
Your advice and support would be so greatly appreciated and I would love to hear from any mums with your thoughts. Id also love to hear your opinion of you are a childcare provider.
Many thanks in advance!
Rhona