A mother has described experiencing every parent's worst nightmare after receiving a call that a stranger had picked up her daughter from nursery. Jody Riley, 37, from Formby, was working at a nearby café on Wednesday, June 10, when she got the call at around 2:20pm from Kids Planet Crosby, the nursery attended by her toddler Rosie McDonald.
Jody was informed that another child's grandfather had collected her sleeping two-year-old Rosie and driven away with her for at least 10 minutes before the error was discovered. She told the ECHO: "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."
Security Breach
Jody expressed disbelief at how the incident unfolded. "I don't understand how he was able to get through two security doors, enter the toddler room, pick up my sleeping child, and then leave the building, strap her into his car and drive off with her without anyone noticing it wasn't his child," she said.
Jody and her partner Gary McDonald, 40, both run their own businesses and typically collect Rosie from nursery at either 3pm or 5pm. Jody explained that when she picks up Rosie, facial recognition grants her access, and she must then knock on the toddler room door to collect her daughter. She is still waiting for answers on how the incident was allowed to happen.
Nursery Response
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."
They added: "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. In line with our safeguarding procedures, we have made immediate self-referrals to Ofsted and the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and are cooperating fully with both organisations."
Jody said Rosie will not return to the nursery and she will care for her full-time for the foreseeable future.
