Staffordshire mum left anxious after her son escaped a nursery in Stone

The child was seen wandering the town centre on CCTV

Stone ST15
Author: Adam SmithPublished 21st Jul 2023

A Staffordshire mum says she's been left incredibly anxious after her son managed to escape from a nursery in Stone.

Fiona Maguires three year old son James left the playground area at Elmhurst House Day Nursery back in May and was spotted on CCTV wandering the town centre.

"We went into panic, thinking that our son was dead" Fiona told Greatest Hits Radio News.

"It's put me in an awful position as a mum. I'm very anxious to leave him with anyone now. It's just brought an awful lot of distress to our family.

"We as parents do not want to see this happen to anybody else."

Elmhurst House Day Nursery has issued a full and frank apology and said they regard this event as their responsibility and failure.

"Our team were shocked and distressed when one of the children in our care managed to escape briefly from our nursery playground." they said.

"We were all deeply relieved that no harm came to the child. No such event has ever occurred at the nursery before and, following an immediate investigation, we have taken urgent steps to ensure that this could never happen again.

"We are proud of our nursery and our track record, and we love the children we are privileged to care for. But we offer no excuses for what happened on this occasion. We can only redouble our efforts to ensure that we provide the finest possible professional attention and support for the children in our care."

It's understood that the nursery referred itself to Ofsted after the incident and the national inspector has since reviewed and closed the matter. Their latest report can be viewed here.

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