A mother whose daughter was mistakenly picked up from nursery by a stranger says the story she was originally told has 'completely changed', leaving her seeking more answers.
Incident at Kids Planet Crosby
Jody Riley, 37, from Formby, was working in a nearby café on Wednesday, June 10, when she received a call from Kids Planet Crosby, which her two-year-old daughter Rosie McDonald attends. Jody said she was told another child's grandfather had picked up her sleeping daughter and driven away with her for at least 10 minutes before the mistake was noticed.
She said: 'My phone rang at around 2.20pm and it took a while for the staff member to tell me what had happened, but she eventually told me somebody had picked Rosie up and they were still investigating it. They let me know she was back at the nursery safe and everything felt like a blur from there. I had a panic attack and I had to try and calm myself down to go and get her. Getting that call is every parent's worst nightmare and I feel like I've had a taste of what that is like now.'
Jody said she did not understand how the man was able to leave the building with no one noticing it was not his child. She said: 'The staff were shook up and could not apologise enough but they did not have any answers for me. At that stage I was still mid panic attack and in shock so I was not asking all the questions I could because I just wanted to see my daughter. Obviously I knew she was safe which was the main thing, but in a situation like that you start to worry about everything. I just kept thinking about how long she was missing for before either the nursery or the man noticed and I would not wish that feeling on anyone.'
Nursery's Initial Statement
After the incident, a spokesperson for Kids Planet said: 'We can confirm that an incident occurred at our Crosby setting in which a child was mistakenly released to a grandparent who is known to staff, has passed all required security vetting and who is an approved collector for a different child, who was also onsite at the time. The child was returned safely to the nursery within minutes, and we are in direct continuous contact with the families involved to offer our sincere apologies and to provide ongoing support while a full investigation takes place. The safety and wellbeing of the children in our care is our highest priority, and we take this unprecedented matter extremely seriously, which is why we have implemented immediate measures including supervised working for the team and additional security protocols, as well as working to revise our policies and training.'
Updated Account Raises Concerns
But Jody has said she received an update from the nursery on Friday, June 12 that has left her feeling 'more anxious'. She told the ECHO: 'The story at the start was that he had picked Rosie up when she was asleep and he only realised it was the wrong child when she woke up and started crying in the car but now the story has completely changed.'
Jody said that after staff reviewed video footage she was informed that the man had walked in with another parent and walked through two security doors to get to the toddler room where Rosie was sleeping. She said: 'The man then physically woke up my daughter and held her in his arms when she was awake. Two members of staff in the room then went to go and get her belongings for him, which included her very significant, massive blanket. Apparently the members of staff then said Rosie's name at least three times before he walked out of the room with her, put her in his car and then drove away for at least 10 minutes. We have asked the nursery several times for him to contact us and the more this is going on the more sick I feel. I am very anxious because I feel like I have been told two separate stories now and I just want more answers.'
Nursery's Response
In response to Jody's comments about what she was told on Friday, a Kids Planet spokesperson said: 'We are unable to comment further while internal and external investigations are ongoing. We are working closely with all relevant authorities, including Ofsted and the LADO (local authority designated officer), to ensure these investigations are thorough and progressed without delay. We remain in direct, regular contact with the families involved and are sharing relevant updates from all enquiries as they progress.'
