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By Andrew Brown
The nursery referred itself to Ofsted after a "significant safeguarding incident". Ofsted have now responded.
An Ofsted inspection has found children were placed at a "significant risk of harm" at Kids Planet Crosby following the incident in which a Formby toddler was accidentally taken home by another family.
Inspectors visited the nursery on 15 June, five days after two-year-old Rosie was mistakenly collected by another child's grandfather, who drove away with her before the mistake was discovered. She was returned safely to the nursery around 10 minutes later.
Rosie's mother, Jody Riley, previously described the incident as every parent's worst nightmare and said her daughter would not be returning to the nursery.
Publishing its findings today (Monday), Ofsted said the nursery failed to meet safeguarding requirements and identified urgent improvements in children's welfare and leadership.
Inspectors found weaknesses in staff deployment, supervision and collection procedures, concluding they placed children at "significant risk of harm". The report also found staffing arrangements did not always keep children safe, risk assessments were ineffective and safeguarding procedures were not applied consistently.
Although inspectors praised the warm relationships between staff and children, they said these positives did not outweigh the safeguarding failings. The nursery failed to meet the requirements of both the Early Years Foundation Stage and the Childcare Register, and Ofsted said it intends to take enforcement action.
Following the incident, Kids Planet tightened its collection procedures, restricted access to nursery rooms and introduced further safeguarding measures. However, Ofsted said leaders could not demonstrate that arrangements consistently protected children from harm.
In a statement, the nursery said it was "deeply sorry" for what it described as an isolated incident caused by human error. It said it had cooperated fully with police and regulators, completed an internal investigation and introduced a comprehensive action plan covering safeguarding, staff training, supervision and risk assessments.
Kids Planet added that Ofsted carried out a follow-up visit on 22 July, with the outcome expected to be published separately.
Published first: Hello Formby — ·
Formby Bubble — · (7h 9m later)
Formby Bubble article: “Formby Mum Speaks Out as Ofsted Finds Nursery Incident Put Children at 'Significant Risk of Harm'”.
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