Nursery closed after child wandered out on his own
Toddler found safe, but manager says ‘we can’t open until we find out what happened’
A NURSERY in Eastcote has been temporarily closed after a 19-month-old child wandered out on his own without the knowledge of the staff working there.
Ofsted has confirmed it suspended the registration of My Mum’s Away @ Cavendish after the incident, which saw the child walk away for a few minutes on April 25.
It has now launched an investigation and says the suspension, which was imposed on May 3, will be lifted “if we are satisfied that children are no longer at risk”.
The nursery is one of two My Mum’s Away run by Carol Cochran and is based at Cavendish House. Ms Cochran is working with Ofsted, independent assessors and the owner of the building to find out how the toddler was able to make off and to improve security in the future.
She said: “A child did go missing and he returned a couple of minutes after being out of the building. But until we can establish how the child got out it’s not safe to reopen. And that’s what we are doing now.
“He was found safe within a few minutes but it could’ve been worse which is why we can’t open until we find out what happened. At the end of the day safety is paramount and we have to make sure the place is safe. Until it’s safe we can’t have kids there.”
A spokesperson for the education watchdog said: “Ofsted has suspended the registration of this setting due to concerns raised about risk assessment arrangements and the safety of children.
“The purpose of this suspension is to allow time for the circumstances to be investigated and for steps to be taken to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm to children.
“We will regularly review the situation and will lift the suspension if we are satisfied that children are no longer at risk.”
According to the My Mum’s Away website, it was judged Good in a 2013 Ofsted report.