Nursery management culture ‘allowed sex abuse to happen’
The review of the scandal at Little Ted’s in Plymouth concluded there was no indication “any professional could have reasonably predicted that George might be a risk to children”.
But it also said there appeared to have been a “complete lack of recognition” that her increasingly strange behaviour after the break-up of her marriage had crossed boundaries.
Self-styled “paedo whore mum” George, 40, who was jailed indefinitely last year, took photographs on her phone of herself abusing toddlers and shared them with fellow paedophile Colin Blanchard.
A summary of a Serious Case Review commissioned by Plymouth Safeguarding Children Board pointed to what it said was weak management at Little Ted’s, which closed immediately after George’s arrest.
The review said Little Ted’s “provided an ideal environment within which George could abuse” and it was critical that Ofsted inspections failed to spot shortcomings.
It concluded the management culture allowed the abuse to happen and lessons needed to be learned but “ultimate responsibility for the abuse must rest with George”.
The report said there was a lack of safe recruitment procedures, an informal recruitment process and lack of formal staff supervision.
Following interviews with George’s colleagues and parents, it was apparent Little Ted’s did not provide a safe, positive environment for children in its care.
It said: “This would indicate that either the individual (Ofsted) inspections were not rigorous enough, or the framework for inspection is not adequate.”
The report said it was not seen as significant George began using a cubicle to change nappies rather than the general changing area.
Staff did not report concerns about her openly discussing her sex life or showing them inappropriate images on her mobile.
“The escalation of George’s behaviour should have prompted a response by the manager of the nursery, but it did not do so.”
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