Toddler escaped Aberdeen nursery and was almost hit by a bus

Kayleigh Kilpatrick's son River left his nursery unobserved

A mum whose three-year-old son escaped from a nursery and was nearly hit by a bus has said the early years sector needs to get a grip of the growing problem.

Kayleigh Kilpatrick's son River left the nursery school in Aberdeen without staff noticing and walked most of the 15-minute journey home before he was found next to a busy road by a passer-by.

His mother said her son suffers anxiety and separation issues as a result of the incident.

An investigation by the Care Inspectorate upheld a complaint that River was put at serious risk of harm and that there was a "unreasonable and lengthy delay" by staff in raising the alarm.

According to regulators there has been a concerning rise in reported incidents of children leaving Scotland's early years centres unaccompanied.

New data for last year shows two children a week, on average, went missing either from nursery or while on trips.

A nursery trade association said its members were taking the issue seriously and cited staffing pressures, with more inexperienced staff and a high turnover of workers as partly to blame.

The Care Inspectorate said the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic on nursery routines and procedures was also a factor.

'He's not the boy I used to have'

The tiny speck circled on this CCTV image is three-year-old River leaving Kingsford School Nursery in Aberdeen unaccompanied on a warm summer's afternoon in August last year.

His first appearance on this camera was clocked at 16:27 but it was 16:54 before a staff member is seen leaving the nursery to look for him.

Nursery workers told the Care Inspectorate they first noticed River was missing at 16:40, but it was 39 minutes after he escaped before the police were called.

"It is probably a 15-minute walk to my house and he got to basically two minutes from our front door," his mum Kayleigh told BBC Scotland News.

"I opened the door and there's this stranger with him asking if I have Iost my child."

The woman had found him wandering in the street by himself.

River's route home involved passing through six residential streets but he also went next to the Lang Stracht, one of Aberdeen's busiest roads, during rush hour.

Kayleigh said: "He told me he was scared but the bit that got me really worried was that he told me a bus nearly hit him and people who were on the bus confirmed the bus did nearly hit him."

River's parents were not contacted by the nursery to say he was missing until Kayleigh was on her way to the centre to find out what happened.

Kayleigh says the industry needs to raise its standards or a child could actually get hit by a bus.

River still regularly talks about his escape from the nursery, says mum Kayleigh

She says River is still impacted by the incident.

"He's not the same boy that I used to have," she said.

"His anxiety of being separated from me is a big issue - we have a great nursery now who have been working through this.

"Prior to this I could drop him off at the door, now sometimes it takes staff to take him off me. He sleeps in my bed most nights, he'll wake up saying he has had bad dreams about the situation."

An unannounced inspection of Kingsford School Nursery by the Care Inspectorate the month after River's escape found it to be weak in every category, with its "significant weaknesses" relating to the welfare and safety of children.

Another inspection in June this year upgraded the nursery to adequate apart from the setting, which was rated as good.

A spokeswoman for Aberdeen City Council, which runs the nursery, said: "We examined the findings of the Care Inspectorate report and implemented its recommendations.

"We apologised to the parents at the time and do so again."

All early years services in Scotland are required to notify the Care Inspectorate of any incidents where a child has left without a responsible adult.

In 2021, the watchdog became aware of an increasing trend and began to track incidences more closely and is now running a "Look, Think, Act" campaign to get nurseries to review their procedures.

Data from the Care Inspectorate shows a total of 88 incidents were recorded across Scotland's early years and nursery settings in 2021/22.

In 2022/23, this rose to 119 and there were 92 cases reported between April and November this year.

Kayleigh said her son suffers anxiety and separation

Chief executive Jackie Irvine told BBC Scotland: "We understand these are events of significant concern.

"I can imagine if it was my child how I would feel - I can imagine [how] parents out there would feel - but I would say the sector are deeply concerned about it so they have engaged well with us."

Ms Irvine said there has been a "big change" in what children have experienced of early learning centres in recent years.

She added: "What we're hearing from parents is they often drop them at the gates but they do not necessarily go in and do the settling and speak to the staff, so there may be a lack of understanding there in that transition from pandemic to post-pandemic.

"We don't know why children want to get out, and they'll find innovative ways to get out, so that is why there is a lot of the support with providers to say have a look at your environment because there will be some aspects they can improve."

Jonathan Broadbery, director of policy and communications at the National Day Nurseries Association, said: "It is clear the numbers are going in the wrong direction and it is worrying for parents and families, but it is also very distressing for staff and children who are involved in these incidents.

"This data covers a period where children were affected by Covid lockdown, they have not had the normal range of experiences, so things like being in the routine of nursery might be a bit strange for them."

A big increase in the Scottish government-funded early learning and childcare on offer to parents has created staffing pressures in the industry, according to Mr Broadbery, who pointed to the 29% staff turnover rate in private nurseries.

He added: "You've got a lot of staff moving from settings to settings - maybe some younger and less experienced staff coming through to fill those vacancies - so it's a period of turmoil for our sector."