Child ‘hit’ by nursery staff

[Supermathsdoc]

A bit long but I’ll try to summarise:

2 weeks ago I was called by my 20m old child’s nursery to say there had been an incident. My child went to scratch another and a nursery worker hit her on the bum to stop her. There was no mark. My child was fine afterwards. I obviously didn’t see this but another nursery work did and called it out.

There was an investigation, while this took place the person was removed from the room. Nursery staff (who I think were junior) told me she wouldn’t be back and that she didn’t seem aware that she’d done anything wrong. They obviously couldn’t tell me who it was, butdid say it was a permanent (but new) member of staff rather than an unknown agency worker.

The investigation is now complete, the nursery have done all the right things, they’ve told ofsted, there’s been a disciplinary hearing etc and the person is now back in the room with some extra support.

I feel super uncomfortable with this. We have had no other issues with this nursery and my child seems happy there. I guess what im asking is what others would do? Would you disrupt your child and find a new nursery just in case? Is it just one of those things? I’m not sure what the best thing to do is.

The nursery seems to be bending over backwards to protect the nursery worker more than they are protecting your DC. The nursery should not have allowed that person in the same room as your DC again.

Abso-FRICKING-lutely I would. It’s your duty as a fellow parent

If she had been there for less than 2 years, she can be sacked for any reason, other then discrimination for being pregnant or race related etc.

I’d also tell all the other parents! Always. There is no way on earth that a reputable company would keep a child abuser on. She is clearly not safe around children if she poses a low risk ‘if supervised’. God good. I’m not a fan of going nuclear but this is the time to do it.

This.

I’m wondering if you’ve been given the actual full story

Verbally from the room lead. But I’m expecting the summary of report in 1 hour

Tbh I think in this case maybe better the devil you know..... You know the staff in this service won't tolerate ill-treatment of children, management support them in making reports and don't hide issues, are transparent with parents, sadly this isn't the case in many places.
I would ask that she be moved ASAP and that worker not be assigned to her group again should they move staff around as the trust is gone in terms of a relationship with her

I would think carefully about this. I mean yes, of course if you are unhappy remove your child. However it seems to me that the nursery worker probably tapped your child on the nappy as a quick warning that she shouldn't do what she seemed to be about to do. It sounds like the investigation has come to the conclusion that it wasn't done in a way that harmed the child, or with intention to harm the child, and it has been concluded therefore that your child and other children were, and will continue to be, safe in the nursery worker's care, so there is no reason to discontinue her employment. Of course, if you feel that your child's safety and wellbeing was/is compromised by the nursery, there is nothing to say you shouldn't remove your child, but processes like this take place because, rightly or wrongly it is not usually legal to fire someone the first time they make an unintentional error of judgement that could have hurt someone, if it actually didn't hurt anyone.

I’ve expected replies all the way along the spectrum of possible responses, personally I’m still finding my way. I don’t think she’s been impacted physically, emotionally I guess it’s that much harder to assess. Then I have the pre-emotive guilt of what if something bigger/worse happens and this was a warning sign I should have heeded? I definitely need more info and more sight of the nursery’s reasoning.

It is legal to sack someone for gross misconduct. And it is gross misconduct (and a criminal offence) for a nursery worker to assault a child in their care.

I would leave her at the nursery. They did everything they should have done, have offered to move your child early to the next room if you want them to, and obviously have a good safeguarding culture if another worker called it out.

Of course the worker was wrong but the fact that they kept her on seems to indicate that it wasn’t a dreadfully serious incident. I really don’t think they would have kept her on if they thought there was any possibility of a repeat. She shouldn’t have done it at all but there’s a big difference between a deliberate hit or slap as a punishment, intending to cause pain, and an automatic tap on a padded bum to prevent hurt to another child.

I totally disagree that it is your "duty" to contact police or try to ruin the reputation of what you say is usually a good nursery, just because of the stupid action of one employee. You say your daughter suffered no injury and I very much doubt if she will have suffered emotionally any more from a tap on the bum than if she had been quickly seized and pulled away from the child they thought she was going to scratch.

I once employed someone in an HR capacity who had worked at a nursery in a similar capacity. One of the interview questions was to tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult HR situation. The candidate explained that a nursery worker had assaulted a child. The candidate's role was to prove that it was that worker who had done it. Even with CCTV the worker denied it and the candidate explained that they had pointed out to the worker that they were identifiable in the CCTV. The worker was dismissed.

If they are not dismissing the worker at your DC's nursery, then this is not as serious an incident that was described to me. The fact that they are also supervising the worker shows they are taking it very seriously. I have no doubt that a second incident will result in dismissal.

I think you are right to get as much detail as you can and to move your child to the next room. But if they have made a decision not to dismiss then it will for good reasons.

Yes you are right, which is why I suspect that what actually happened was not assault at all. If a small child is doing something dangerous to themselves or another small child, physically stopping them is called appropriately keeping them safe, not assault.

I think the devil is in the detail. Most people seem to be jumping to saying she should be sacked. But presumably the purpose of investigation was to ascertain what happened and one might assume the fact she’s not been sacked it’s been deemed not gross misconduct. Read the report, if you’re concerned I’d discuss with nursery irrespective of whether you decide to pull your daughter out. I appreciate this is all stressful but the grass isn’t always greener and I don’t think @Supermathsdoc this incident is indicative of anything wider…unless the report suggests they’re trying to brush it under the carpet.

@Supermathsdoc yes I can understand that, obviously you haven’t got the information/reassurance you need from the nursery so I think you need to go through the motions before making your decision. Is your daughter able to tell you if she enjoys/wants to stay at nursery?

My relative was investigated once. A child had poor trunk strength and kept falling off the chair at lunch. Concerned that the child would be hurt by the repeated falls, but having no high chairs or other restraints, my relative fashioned a small sling from an apron that went under the child's arms and tied loosely at the back and also went between the child's legs and tied. It was based on her having seen very similar things available to attach to chairs in Europe. It was done purely and entirely to support the child's trunk and keep him/her safe while eating as he/she kept slipping and falling on the chairs. The child was not at all distressed and was well supported by this sling. However a coworker reported this as her "tying a child to a chair". After investigation she was partially exonerated - as in, they accepted her explanation but thought it was probably not the best idea, which relative accepted. Relative was not sacked, which she certainly would have been if she had maliciously tied a child to a chair.

I share this story to show that sometimes what a parent is told is an interpretation of a situation rather than the actual truth, hence the need for inverstigation, and given that this nursery worker has not been sacked I assume they have found evidence that there was no deliberate malice or ill intent or that the situation was partly misinterpreted or something.

Unfortunately the email I received was not a summary of the report, as I was expecting, but a summary of our discussion, which focussed on moving my child to another room and ensuring the worker in question doesn't have direct contact. I'm disappointed but maybe I misunderstood what they would be sending.

In my reply Ive asked for:

• The exact nature of what happened during the incident
• The current risk assessment and safeguarding measures in place specifically relating to my child's care
• Any potential future contact this staff member might have with my child, even indirectly

Ive asked them to send this by the end of the week.

Im not particularly looking for this person to be arrested, especially when I have such little info. I just want my child (and others) to be safe, and happy and I don't want her to experience a challenge that she doesn't 100% need to. If we do end up staying I want my relationship with the nursery leadership to be intact so Im trying to be level-headed and measured in my responses.

Crikey. Why would you want to destroy a business?

I didn’t realise the person who hit your child is still employed at the nursery! I misread your original post. I don’t understand why on earth that staff member is still working at the nursery- completely inappropriate in my opinion. She shouldn’t be near children, I don’t think.

For me, I would not be happy with the outcome that the staff member stays but is moved to another room and prohibited from contact with my DC. The worker is either at fault or not. A risk to children or not.

Life just isn't that black and white though. We live in such a world of blame - nobody is perfect and there's such a sliding scale that the action could represent.

It's such an unworkable withdrawal where everyone is only given one chance.

The staff was pulled up, referred to an independent body and given supervision. It sounds like a good, proportionate course of action.

Based on the description provided to the OP so far, their children might not even have been aware anything happened.

The OP has been kept informed and provided with options. It sounds really reasonable.

I would ask for a copy of the report, take it to the police and press charges.

Sorry if I’ve missed this but have you had contact from the LADO at all? They should’ve also produced a report as well as the setting.

I’m Safeguarding lead in a nursery and personally wouldn’t be able to leave my child there. People like that don’t just change. Watch the CCTV. Report to the police. Ensure all the other parents know why you’re removing your child

I'm not entirely sure you can believe they've reported this to LADO or OFSTED.

You need to contact them both yourself and I'd consider speaking to the police too. They sound like they've done some sort of internal investigation.

None of this is ok.

While there is an early years recruitment crisis some nurseries will end up forced to hang onto staff they might not be 100% sure of. Which is not right and means they are not safeguarding the children in their care.

ASK TO SEE THE REPORT FROM LADO.

Ask to see an incident form.

DONT send your child back there.

It's gross misconduct to strike a child. This member of staff, if new, is on a probationary period. Why would they keep her on???