Kid left locked in nursery after closing as staff thought they'd been collected
A probe has been launched after a young child was left locked inside a nursery after closing time.
Sweet P Daycare in Birchgrove, Cardiff, which looks after children up to the age of five, said management had carried out an internal investigation following the incident on July 13 - and found that software used by staff indicated that a child had been collected when it had not. The child was left alone for up to 15 minutes, reports Wales Online.
The Gov UK website states that babies, toddlers and very young children should never be left alone, while children below the age of 12 are "rarely mature enough" to be left alone for long periods of time. Both Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) and Cardiff Council have both confirmed they are in communication with the nursery and each other following the incident. It has not been stated what, if any, further action will be taken.
A statement from the nursery said the safety of children in its care was its "utmost priority" and stressed that a traditional sign-out system had been adopted to ensure it did not happen again. It reads: "At Sweet P Nursery, we take the safety and wellbeing of all children in our care as our utmost priority. We understand the significant responsibility we hold in providing a secure environment for each child, and we are committed to continuously improving our procedures to prevent any potential incidents.
"Following an isolated incident at our Birchgrove nursery, our management team conducted a thorough internal investigation to address the issue and enhance our child drop-off and collection process. The specialist childcare software we rely on had indicated that a child was collected, when, in fact, the child remained at the nursery. We took immediate action by involving the appropriate regulatory body, CIW, to ensure that our investigation was conducted with the utmost professionalism and that steps were taken to prevent any future occurrences.
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"As a result of the investigation, we have identified the need to implement an additional step in our sign-in/sign-out procedure to ensure the accuracy of attendance details in our childcare software. Whilst Sweet P would like to rely on technology to streamline our processes, it is apparent that technology alone cannot be fully relied on.
"We have therefore reinstated a second stage to the process, whereby parents are required to personally sign out their child at the end of the day, providing an extra layer of security and accountability.
"At Sweet P Nursery, we are keen to learn from any mistakes and constantly strive to improve our processes to prevent failures no matter how small. We remain dedicated to maintaining the trust and confidence of our parents and the community by upholding the highest standards of child safety and care.
"Please feel free to reach out to our management team if you have any further questions or concerns. Your child's safety and well-being are of the utmost importance to us, and we will continue to work diligently to ensure the highest level of care at Sweet P Nursery."
A spokeswoman for CIW, the independent regulator of social care and childcare in Wales, said the organisation was working closely with the nursery and local authority. The spokeswoman said: “We have been made aware of the situation and have taken the appropriate steps in accordance with our standard policies and procedures. We continue to work closely with the provider and local authority to ensure the safety of all children who use the service.”
A Cardiff council spokesman confirmed that safeguarding actions were ongoing following the incident and that they would work with the nursery and partners in "taking forward safeguarding actions.”
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