More parents claim nursery harm after BBC documentary | Manchester News

Nine families have contacted the alleging serious harm was caused to their children while in nursery care – including a broken leg, a serious head injury, and deep bruising.

The families, who came forward after seeing the documentary How Safe Are Our Nurseries, called on Ofsted to re-examine its inspection processes and increase scrutiny of nursery providers across England.

Law firm Farleys Solicitors said the number of legal claims involving injuries to children in nurseries had increased tenfold over the past decade.

Watchdog Ofsted, and The Early Years Alliance, which represents nurseries, said safeguarding was a top priority across the sector and that breaches were rare.

Adrianna and Matt Czachor enrolled their son Jonathan at Cheshire Day Nursery in Guardian Street, Warrington, believing they had chosen the best nursery for their boy.

But Ms Czachor said that when she picked up her son at the end of his fourth day at the Outstanding-rated nursery, something felt wrong.

She said: “He seemed quite upset at pick-up. But staff told us he’d had a great day.”

Later that evening, she noticed bruising above Jonathan’s hips and took him to hospital.

Doctors informed her that a child protection enquiry would be opened – and she was temporarily not allowed to be alone with her own son.

“All of a sudden we were in the spotlight,” she said. “We almost felt like we were accused of something. I just wanted to scream – believe us, can you not see we haven’t done anything wrong?”

The next day, police reviewed nursery CCTV footage. A social services report later concluded Jonathan had been strapped to a chair for around two hours in total, and that was the likely the cause of the bruises.

“I was just heartbroken,” Ms Czachor said. “I felt like I’d failed him. Like I gave him up to a place I thought would protect him, and they didn’t.”

The family said they still have not been given access to the full CCTV footage. Cheshire Day Nursery told the it cannot share the video for privacy reasons.

The nursery maintained Jonathan was in the chair for less than two hours throughout the day, and that there was no conclusive evidence linking the bruises to the chair.

Like Ms Czachor, Paula Bibby relied on Ofsted ratings to choose a nursery for her nine-month-old daughter, Hannah.

She enrolled her at Partou Stonehouse Nursery in Leyland, which was rated Good.

But after a staff member was suspended, Paula demanded to see CCTV footage.

Paula said the CCTV footage showed Hannah on the floor and a staff member grabbing her arm and dragging her across the floor.

The footage, which was shared with the , showed Hannah later being pulled up by her arm.

“I was furious,” Ms Bibby said. “My tiny, nine-month-old baby being treated like that. And we weren’t even told straight away. We could’ve checked her for injuries.”

Early years expert Professor Helen Penn reviewed the footage and described it as “terrible”.

“To hold a child by one arm risks dislocation. But it’s also just unkind. They’re being manhandled.”

Partou Stonehouse Nursery described the incident as “regrettable” and “shocking”, adding the staff member was suspended immediately and later dismissed.

The nursery said the incident was reported to authorities and that it had supported Hannah’s family throughout the process.

Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s national director for regulation and social care, acknowledged concerns raised by families.

She said: “It’s always a concern when a child comes to harm. It’s not something any of us want to tolerate.

“We can’t rule out cases where people lack integrity and don’t share information with us.

“We do unannounced inspections where concerns arise. But more frequent checks would need significant investment.”

Other parents who came forward after the documentary aired on 7 April included a father who told the his child broke his leg after slipping on a wet floor.

The nursery said there had been a warning sign, but the child’s parents pointed out their two-year-old son could not read and should have been supervised.

A mother said her nine-month-old daughter had to be rushed to hospital after her head was found to be swollen and blue.

Doctors said she had sustained a serious head injury.

The nursery was apparently unable to explain how it happened, leaving the parents feeling their daughter had been left unattended.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the discovered that nearly 20,000 serious childcare incidents were reported to Ofsted over the last five years – an average of 75 “significant events” each week, ranging from serious injuries to child deaths.

The number of incidents in 2023–24 was 40% higher than five years earlier.

Personal injury solicitor Jane Chadwick, of Farleys Solicitors, says the rise in nursery injury cases was dramatic.

She said: “Twenty years ago, nursery claims weren’t a thing. Now we get two to three enquiries a week.

“You’re leaving your most valuable possession with someone you trust. When that trust is broken, especially with serious or unexplained injuries, parents are understandably devastated and want justice.”

The Department for Education said: “We are introducing strengthened safeguarding measures from September 2025, including improved recruitment practices, new whistleblowing procedures, and safer eating policies.”

It added it would “continue to monitor if further changes are needed to keep children as safe as possible.”