Council to review door security at all Aberdeen schools and nurseries after child left building unnoticed

Aberdeen City Council will review door security at all of its nurseries and schools after a young child managed to leave a nursery unnoticed.

The move comes after an urgent motion was put forward at Tuesday’s education and children’s services committee meeting.

Councillors unanimously agreed that immediate steps needed to be taken to ensure the safety of youngsters following an incident at Kingsford Nursery.

What happened at Kingsford Nursery?

Three-year-old River Wood managed to escape the city facility in August without staff noticing.

He was later found walking down the busy Lang Stracht on his own by a kind passer-by who took the youngster home.

A recent investigation by the Care Inspectorate found that River was at “serious risk of harm”.

And it found that it took nursery staff at least 25 minutes to alert the council and police after they realised he was missing.

What was in the urgent motion?

Council education convener Martin Greig moved the “strong and appropriate” set of actions with councillor Richard Brooks.

The motion expressed the council’s “sincere regret” about the incident and said it “sympathises with the parents and family and others involved”.

Mr Greig said: “We are looking at an individual case of a family who have experienced considerable anxiety and trauma.

“I think it is only appropriate for us as a committee to express our compassion for the situation that they found themselves in.

“That just seems like an appropriate thing to do to show them that we do care.”

What other action will be taken?

Members asked the chief education officer to get assurance that staff are confident following council policies that are designed to keep children safe.

This will ensure that they fully understand and know what is expected of them should a similar incident occur in the future.

But door security arrangements at all early-year settings in the city will be reviewed to ensure an incident like this does not happen again.

Councillors agreed that the safety of children in the council’s care is of “paramount importance”. They also noted the Care Inspectorate’s investigation.

A report will come back to the committee at a later date to give members an update on the actions requested in the motion.

Apology without action is ‘not enough’

But River’s mum Kayleigh Kilpatrick doesn’t think the motion is enough.

She said: “We were told in the Care Inspectorate’s investigation that the council had already looked at security in all schools. If they haven’t then I hope they do now.

“I feel that it’s very important, especially in early years settings, that doors are alarmed.

“To have secure buildings is one thing but to have staff not follow missing child policy and procedures is another.

“How are they going to prove staff have the knowledge to safeguard children?”

The family have already received an apology from the local authority but Ms Kilpatrick said an apology without action was “not enough”.

She added: “Not once have the council taken accountability for misleading us through their own investigation.”

Ms Kilpatrick has not put her son back to Kingsford since the incident.

But she said River was finding it difficult being away from nursery.

Kayleigh said: “It’s very hard for a three-year-old to understand why he can’t be with his friends.

“But the council failed him and we are not entertaining nursery at this point until we get more answers and support. Then we can think about getting him back to some form of education.”

‘Schools should be kept as safe as possible’

Following the meeting, Mr Greig said that the incident at Kingsford Nursery was “deeply worrying”.

He added: “It was important for the committee to follow up the concerns and agree immediate action.

“Schools should be kept as safe as possible.

“We need reassurances that safety procedures are being followed by all school staff.”

Mr Greig also stated that reviewing door security is “essential and urgent”.

Meanwhile councillor Sandra Macdonald said she was “very pleased” to see security checks extended to all early years settings.

You can watch Tuesday’s education and children’s services meeting here.