A TOP fee-paying nursery was closed because of a catalogue of serious concerns over child neglect, nutrition and medication.
An urgent inspection of the facility at Aberdeen’s Hamilton School, which is also at the centre of a police investigation, was carried out earlier this month.
A total of 14 “immediate concerns” have been raised by inspectors and information on cases of young children with unexplained injuries has also been given to the police.
Shocked parents quizzed Education Secretary Mike Russell about the allegations during his visit to Aberdeen yesterday.
He said the Care Inspectorate report on the nursery at Hamilton School made for “difficult reading”.
And he described an earlier Education Scotland document, which led to the main school’s closure on Friday, as “far and away the most extraordinary, worst” he had ever seen.
The school’s principal and owner, Kathlyn Taylor, 65, and a 25-year-old nursery employee are facing prosecution following a police investigation into staff conduct at the premises in Queen’s Road. The nursery study said staff failed to keep accurate information on children’s “life-threatening allergies”, which could potentially have led to youngsters failing to receive the right medication in an emergency.
Inspectors noted there were no effective plans in place to support children with medical or other support needs across the whole nursery.
In some cases, parental consent forms were found to have expired, with no audit taken of medications.
Children as young as 12 months were also expected to feed themselves without staff support – even when they were unable to do so.
The inspectors said: “We saw these children struggling to eat very hard crusty bread which was later thrown on the floor by some children.
“We also saw a bowl of soup being tipped on to the table and the child, using their hands, trying to scrape the soup off the tablecloth, without success.
“Other children resorted to gathering the soup with their hands and licked off what they could.”
Dangerous items, including cleaning products, plastic bags and medicated creams, were also found to be within easy reach of youngsters. “These were stored on a low-level glass shelving unit that was damaged and was unstable and on a bracket on the wall,” the report stated.
“In addition, staff had not supported children at the toilet and did not check that the bathrooms were clean and tidy before each child used them,” added the inspectors.
Concern was also raised about hygiene, with inspectors observing “toilet seats splashed with urine, toilet tissue across the floor and one toilet that was blocked with toilet paper”.
The detailed information was released by the Care Inspectorate due to the “intense” public interest in the case.
Annette Bruton, chief executive of the Care Inspectorate, said an “urgent” application to Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Friday to close the nursery was necessary “to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of young children who were not safe”.
“The decision of the provider to close the nursery is, we believe – given the evidence we hold – in the best interests of children, although we know this makes it a very difficult time for parents and families,” said Ms Bruton.
“There were 14 immediate concerns raised by our inspection team when we visited the Hamilton School nursery.
“These were – medication, mealtimes, milk feeds, sleep arrangements, outdoor play, assessment of risk in the toilet area, engagement with children, support for children with additional needs, supporting children’s behaviour, toilet training and support with toileting, staff turnover and deployment, communication, planning for children’s interests and abilities, management and leadership.”
The Care Inspectorate is working with other nurseries in the city to find available spaces for children from the Hamilton School.
Police confirmed yesterday that inquiries were continuing.
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