My child was shut in the garden

[purpledaisy60]

I'm not sure how I feel about this but today when I picked DD (3) up from nursery one of her nursery workers told me that after playing in the garden before tea (it was dark) she got shut outside whilst everyone else went inside, the door was closed shut etc and it wasn't until a member of staff went looking for her they discovered her sat outside crying by herself 😢 this garden is at the front of the nursery with a fairly low fence that anyone could have jumped over (nursery is in the grounds of a school)

I was a nursery nurse myself for years before I had DD so I know mistakes happen but never once did I shut anyone's child outside in the garden alone in the dark. We would do head counts before we closed the outside door.

I am fairly happy with the nursery overall and DD enjoys it but I can't help but feel annoyed about this.

This is awful! I would report them of ofsted and change nurseries if at all possible

I would be asking to speak to the manager and waiting to be convinced to keep my child there. That’s a serious matter. They don’t seem to be taking it seriously.

I would definitely report this to Ofsted !

Jesus that's awful. Definitely complain, you need to feel 100% safe about leaving your child with anyone else. I'd not want to drop her off again!

That's awful, it would really change how I felt about the nursery.

What surprises me is the apparent lack of security, with only a low wall separating the nursery from the road. That's if I have read that correctly.

At my granddaughter's former nursery, and now at her school, there was either a high hedge, high walls or railings. No-one could have got in without being admitted.

Yes it was a mistake and I'm sure the nursery was in panic when they found that she was missing. Ultimately no harm was done.

I would want to know what they are going to put in place to ensure that this can't happen again.

I wouldn't be reporting to Ofsted. It depends what you want. Someone to lose their job?

I'd speak to the manager, ask to see their safeguarding policy, confirmation that they have followed it in terms of logging the incident/lessons learned etc and ask how they would be improving or reinstating their procedure to account for the whereabouts of the children at all times.if the manager gives satisfactory answers then I would accept this as an accident that has been learnt from. I wouldn't be going straight to Ofsted without first working with the nursery.

I would want to understand the time scales. If they have gone in, shut the door, counted, and realised they were missing one, that’s fine. If they didn’t realise for a long time that’s different. It is good they told you though.

How did they not notice she was missing? That should have happened in minutes and the alarm raised. Where's the safeguarding?

When I was first told about it I think I was shocked so I didn't say anything there and then (I definitely didn't make it seem like I was cross) but after coming away and thinking about it I'm feeling really uncomfortable about it and nervous about leaving her there again.

Yes the fence is incredibly low and leads onto the road of the school entrance (it is a private school so I would expect better)

The nursery staff are really lovely and I feel bad about getting them in trouble but I do think I need to speak to the manager about this and I definitely will be doing so, I'm not sure which member of staff it was that shut the door without checking.

I'm not sure how long it was until they realised she was missing, the lady said she was checking the toilets etc and felt panicked before realising she was shut in the garden

This is so awful. Your poor little one. You are right to be angry this is unacceptable.
I have worked in quite a few different nurseries and every single one was very ott on head couldn't and room sweeps if you are moving areas/ rooms to make sure stuff like this never happens.
Definitely ask for a meeting. Ask for their safe guarding policy, an investigation into this and how going forward they will ensure this never happens again.

How they respond to the incident would then help me decide if my child was going back to their care.

I hope you little one is okay and not stressed if/when they return to the setting.

The private school setting makes a BIG difference, I was imagining a state school where the whole campus is secure, with high green fences and having to get buzzed in and out. I would be a lot less calm and a lot more livid in the setting you describe.

I remember a post exactly like this and the responses were completely different. Responses were very much that OP was overreacting and it was probably only a couple of minutes before staff realised in the time it takes them to do a headcount when they come inside.

Ask to talk to the manager to get the full picture of what happened.

I have sent a email to the manager explaining my thoughts and asking for protocols to insure this won't happen again.

It only takes 2 seconds for a child to fall and hit their head or for someone to walk into the grounds reach over and take a child from the garden.

It happened at a nursery near where we live. I'm not sure about all the details but a few prospective parents have told me they opted against this nursery because of this.
We had viewed the nursery for our own DC (prior to this incident) and were not hugely impressed as the staff didn't look very engaged. I can imagine one forgetting a kid behind.
Considering the ratio child :adult is quite low, I personally wouldn't be impressed.

I would ask why the charges are not being counted out and back in.
It's such a simple procedure.

@grayhairdontcare this is what I have asked them in the email I have sent, it's such a simple check that should be done every time.

They're suppose to report themselves if something like this happens.