Aberdeen nursery accused of 'multiple failings' after three-year-old allowed to wander out near busy road

The mother of a three-year-old child who was able to leave his nursery alone and not be noticed by staff says they feel by failed by operators Aberdeen City Council.

It follows the release of a Care Inspectorate report which said that River Kilpatrick was at “serious risk of harm” and that staff should’ve had better training following his escape from Kingsford School Nursery in August.

Kayleigh Kilpatrick said: “I was shocked when I saw the report, because it wasn’t just one failing.

“I think that the thing that really got me angry was the fact that they didn’t follow the missing child policy.

“How can you feel like other people’s children will be safe if they can’t follow a simple policy.”

In August her three-year-old son River left his nursery alone and without being noticed, before trying to walk home along the busy A944 Lang Stracht road in Aberdeen.

He was nearly hit by a bus before a concerned passer-by saw him and stopped to help him home.

Kayleigh said: “He’s now got a fear of buses, he’s not sleeping well, he wakes up quite upset.

“For me, I’ve definitely got more anxious. and it’s made my Tourette’s much more obvious. “

The care inspectorate has now investigated the five complaints against Kingsford Nursery and has upheld all of them.

It found that that River was at serious risk of harm when he left and communication with his parents had been misleading

Aberdeen City Council run Kingsford nursery and say new systems including an alarmed entry way and better staff training and other measures have now been implemented.

But River’s parents say this doesn’t go far enough. His dad Peter Wood explained: “I wish they had offered my son some sort of support or would even just call to check in on how he’s doing.”

Kayleigh, who is now taking their complaint to the Scottish Public service ombudsman, added: “He’s still not at nursery because of this. They’ve told us multiple different stories so no I don’t think its adequate at all.”