Crèche owner leaves three-year-old boy behind in a park. The fine? Just €1,200

IT was every parent’s nightmare. When Denise McGrane went to collect her three-year-old son from the crèche she was told Nathan had been taken on an impromptu trip to the local park.

She waited for her son, watching with growing unease as the other children arrived in the care of two members of staff, including Nathan's teacher, Deirdre Fahy. But Nathan was missing.

Ms McGrane asked Ms Fahy where Nathan was and the teacher "started panicking". The two women ran back to Fairview Park.

Thinking Nathan could be dead the park is beside a busy main road Denise broke down with relief when she saw her son standing watching two other children on the swings. They both hugged Nathan. The teacher grabbed Nathan and put her arms around him, crying. She continued crying all the way back to the crèche.

The teacher said to Ms McGrane: "This shouldn't have happened. Is he OK?"

Despite this, the crèche owner Anne Davy denied leaving Nathan alone. However, a judge said he found her evidence was not credible. He fined her €1,200.

Speaking after the case, Denise McGrane said: "When the teachers arrived back first they said Nathan should be along any minute with the other teacher, Trisha Kelly.

Then when Trisha Kelly arrived back, Deirdre Fahy, that was Nathan's teacher, turned around and asked her where was Nathan. She said 'you have him' and she said 'no I told you to take him at the park'.

"Shock was going through my mind. I didn't know where my child was. I thought it was a joke for a minute."

Nathan's father, Vincent, said: "We're very happy. It doesn't matter to us about the fine. We just wanted in the end to see that it was said that we weren't lying."

Judge William Hamill found Ms Davy, owner of Giggles Crèche and Montessori, Tolka Road, Dublin, guilty of failing to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of Nathan McGrane on July 30 last.

He also convicted her of failing to provide adequate supervision in accordance with her insurances and of having inadequate staff and attendance records.

Judge Hamill said he found the evidence of the crèche owner and one of her employees, Mary Quinn, not to be credible and in conflict with that of another mother who was outside the crèche when all the children, except Nathan, arrived back.

Ms Davy had denied the charges, claiming Nathan was being watched over at all times by Mary Quinn. Ms Davy said she had left the park briefly to return to the crèche to get another child's lunchbox and had left Ms Quinn sitting near Nathan.

Ms Quinn said when Ms McGrane and the child's Montessori teacher arrived in the playground, she left without saying a word because she felt her job was done.

Ms Davy and Ms Quinn denied they had made up a story together to cover their backs for a mistake.

Ms Davy's lawyer argued that Ms McGrane and the teacher, Ms Fahy, had "jumped to the conclusion" that Nathan was on his own when in fact he was not.

However, Dublin District Court heard from another mother, Rachel Jevens, who was outside the crèche before Nathan's mother arrived. Ms Jevens said that she did not see Ms Davy returning to get a lunchbox as she had claimed.

In court yesterday, counsel for Ms Davy said this was her first conviction and the crèche, which was purpose-built, was regularly inspected and many parents continued to use it. It had been inspected just two weeks before this incident.

Judge Hamill imposed fines of €600 on the charges of failing to ensure the health and safety of the child and on the inadequate supervision charge.

The charge in relation to staff and attendance rosters was taken into account.

He also ordered Ms Davy to pay the health board €1,000 in legal costs.

National Crèche and Nurseries Association (NCNA) director Mary Lee Stapleton said this case raised issues about how crèches aren't being inspected enough because the Pre-School Inspectorate is under-resourced.

"The growth in the childcare sector has put the inspectorate under a lot of pressure. They're meant to inspect nurseries and childcare facilities once a year. "We know that doesn't happen in many cases but don't blame the inspectorate for this as they're not resourced enough" said Ms Stapleton.

Childcare regulations need to be updated urgently, according to Labour party spokeswoman on childcare, Senator Kathleen O'Meara. She is also calling for subsidies to be given to childcare providers to improve quality and a departmental review of regulations to be published.