Children 'at risk' at nursery where man drove off with wrong toddler

Children were found to be at significant risk of harm at a nursery where a man mistakenly drove off with the wrong child, inspectors have found.

The two-year-old girl was picked up and driven away from Kids Planet in Crosby on Merseyside by the grandfather of another child before he realised the mistake and she was returned to the nursery.

The Ofsted inspection, which took place within days of the incident in June, found weaknesses in safeguarding policies meant children were not consistently kept safe.

The nursery said it was deeply sorry and blamed "human error" for the "isolated and unprecedented" incident "when relevant and well-established procedures were not followed".

But the mother of the toddler said she was still waiting for answers two months later.

Jody, 37, said: "The most important part for me now is figuring out.

"It's kind of sickening. It's children that they're dealing with.

"I want answers. I feel like I'm an investigator in my own case at the moment because I don't feel like I've had much help other than from the public."

Jody said she had been unable to get a clear answer as to what happened, adding she had seen CCTV of the incident which was at odds with what she had initially been told.

"They told me she was asleep and on the CCTV she was fully awake.

"[The man] was in the room with her for five whole minutes, and she was fully awake, and [he was] even comforting her.

"They were obviously referring to her as Rosie, and I know his granddaughter's name is not Rosie.

"It just absolutely knocked me sick, and it just proved to me that they've been trying to downplay the whole situation.

"They've been trying to cover it up hoping that I'll accept it."

The BBC put Jody's allegations to Kids Planet, but it has not commented on them.

Ofsted visited the nursery on 15 June.

Inspectors found children were exposed to unnecessary risk and their safety and welfare were not consistently promoted.

"Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding. This puts children at significant risk of harm," inspectors noted.

"The provider notified Ofsted of a significant safeguarding event after a child left the nursery with the wrong authorised collector," inspectors added.

"Leaders responded promptly by reviewing collection procedures, removing parent access to door codes and installing doorbells. This strengthened the security of the premises.

"However, leaders did not ensure effective staff deployment or robust risk assessment during key transition times, such as sleep times and collection."

A spokesperson for Kids Planet said: "We cooperated fully with the relevant authorities and police, all of whom have concluded their independent investigations and are satisfied the matter was handled appropriately.

"We also immediately reviewed collection procedures and security arrangements and carried out an extensive internal investigation.

"We take Ofsted's findings extremely seriously and have implemented a comprehensive action plan covering safeguarding, training, supervision, staffing and risk assessments.

"Ofsted returned on 22 July to review this work, with its outcome summary to follow.

"Ofsted's report recognises our prompt response to the incident while also highlighting the setting's strengths, including children's progress, warm relationships with staff, inclusive practice and strong partnerships with parents and professionals.

"Children's safety and wellbeing remain, and will always remain, our absolute priority.

"We are committed to learning fully from this incident and ensuring that the improvements made are rigorously and consistently upheld."

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