Give parents the right to obtain information on previous major incidents in nurseries and make it mandatory nurseries have the obligation to make parents aware of ongoing investigations. 

We need your help! When you choose a nursery or childcare provider, you would expect as a parent / carer to be within your right to ask and be legally entitled to information and follow up reports on any major incidents or ongoing investigations within a potential new or current childcare setting. This is why we are asking you, and everyone you know to sign this petition to have this noticed by the government to create a law that enables exactly that. 

I would like to explain the reasoning for this, by telling you Blake’s story. I will summarise it below, please see my highlights for a more in depth version.

Blake, my 10 month old son at the time, received 2nd degree chemical burns from boiling bleach whilst in the care of his nursery. Blake was failed by the nursery in every way that day. An ambulance was not called. Blake had to visit theatre multiple times and was wrapped in 7 layers of bandages for over a month with cannulas to flush his wounds three times per day during this time.

After an investigation by the Care Inspectorate, confirming negligence, I assumed parents of the children who still attended this nursery and had no idea this ever happened, would be made aware and given information of the new policies and procedures to ensure something like this never happens again. I was shocked and saddened to know, that such a horrific accident within our own child’s nursery can be hidden from us as parents, even if our child witnessed it. A nursery has no legal obligation to contact you with any major incidents or any current investigations. You as a parent, also have no right to request any information on any previous major incidents, even with the child’s identity protected. 

In time, we found a new nursery for Blake. After extensive research online into the nursery and deciding this was the right place. Blake started, within a few weeks a story hit the paper where a child had sadly passed away from a horrendous choking incident within a nursery owned by this business. We had no knowledge of this prior to Blake starting, we found out when it hit the papers once concluded at court. Employers would be entitled to know if someone had any pending court cases or previous convictions and are legally aloud to do a back ground check on potential new employees. We, as parents, feel the nursery should have been legally obligated to tell us that this had happened and was ongoing prior to Blake starting. Following that, any information on policies and procedures put in place going forward. We would never have found out, had the papers not run that story.

Having this as a law, not only benefits the parents, of whom are trusting majority of the time strangers to care for their children, but gives the nursery the opportunity to explain the steps and measures they have put in place to ensure an accident of that nature does not happen again.

We would also expect that any major incident investigations that are being carried out whilst the nursery still operates, parents of children who attend the nursery are made fully aware of the circumstances. Reason one being, the parent has the right to make a conscious decision on wether they want their child to attend until the investigation has been concluded. Reason two being, the nursery receives no backlash, keeps it’s children’s parents within the loop and builds far greater trust.

This should not be negative, but beneficial to both parties. Transparency within childcare settings should be compulsory.

Currently, there are ‘Sarah’s Law’ and  ‘Claire’s Law’ these are both very important laws that were put in place to protect the vulnerable. Claire’s Law, enables the police to disclose any information to you about your partners previous abuse or violent offending. This is the same with Sarah’s Law, where you are legally entitled to personal background checks on someone specific who is looking after your child. There is a law missing in my opinion, and that is a law to the right to obtain information on major incidents within childcare business.

I truly believe that when you are trusting a childcare provider with your children, who most of the time can not communicate, you are putting your upmost trust in these people. It should be your parental / carer right to obtain any information on previous major incidents and the conclusion. Nurseries should also be legally required to make parents aware of any current or ongoing investigations within the nursery / childcare setting.

Please sign our petition to help make this happen, let’s protect our children and our rights as parents / carers. Lets make it easier for the people who need to put their child into childcare but feel uneasy. Let’s help make sure our children are safe.