Concerned my daughter says a nursery staff member has hurt her

[Kardelen]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice.
my daughter has been attending the same nursery for about 1.5 years. She was happily going until a new member of staff joined the team ( it’s been a good few months now).
she is now 3.5 years old. But she hates going nursery. Before the summer break she was telling me how that staff member hit her ‘very hard’ and demonstrating it and didn’t want to go in, and kept saying she’s scared. But I thought maybe it’s because she doesn’t want to go in.

affer the summer break I’m even more concerned as she is more verbal about it, and she says she hates school, and randomly demonstrates saying miss b did this, showing me how the staff member squeezed her leg. She also keeps saying ‘she slapped very hard on my arm’. She also said how the staff member apologised for doing it.

I haven’t sent her back since then as she does not want to go in, and so I don’t feel comfortable sending her. Last few times at the door she seemed scared, and kept saying she’s scared.

it doesn’t help that her friends also left the nursery this year.
i will be speaking to the manager but I don’t want to accuse anyone, and so I’m really overwhelmed.

has anyone experienced this? Did anyone take it to the manager? Or that their child made up stories?

As I said above, this is not unusual. I had a child tell me her mother chased her around the table with a gun.....I know the mother. A police sergeant strapping her holster on in the morning....big difference.

Why would it do no harm if the woman was innocent?
If I was falsely accused and a parent mafe a report I would be absolutely broken. There are a lot of ignorant people who will say , no smoke without fire.
You could ruin someone's life.

You are right, it could, or you could not say anything, the staff member could be guilty and could hurt another child, or worse!