‘Your child is supposed to be safe at nursery’
‘Your child is supposed to be safe at nursery’
A mum says she’s “lost trust” after a court heard how her 16-month-old son was grabbed like a “bag of rubbish” by an “experienced” nursery worker. Elizabeth Adeagbo told South Sefton Magistrates’ Court on Friday, March 27 how she picked the child up by his arm because she “didn’t want to soak him” with her wet apron.
The teaching assistant, 29, had been employed by agency Teaching Personnel at a nursery in the Wirral, which the ECHO cannot name for legal reasons. She was washing breakfast dishes in the sink at around 9.30am on April 16, last year, when the “happy-go-lucky” child grabbed her trouser leg, wanting her attention.
She claimed she wanted to “comfort” the boy and lifted him up by the arm, taking him to the other side of the classroom. In CCTV footage from the nursery, which was shown in court, the young boy is crying after he’s carried across the room by his left arm. Hours later, when his mum picked him up at lunchtime he was in tears, the court was told.
Speaking to the ECHO, the mum, who also cannot be named for legal reasons, recalled receiving a phone call from the nursery hours after the incident. She said: “I couldn’t process what they were saying, she was trying to explain that he’d been inappropriately handled by an agency member of staff but I couldn’t understand. I just had to get there and see him, see that he was OK.
“I took him to A&E and thankfully there was no physical harm but it was so scary, there was so much going on afterwards too.”
In the footage, which was shown to the court and was seen by the ECHO, Adeagbo is seen standing at the sink and the child is behind her, to the left. The child does not appear to be in any distress in the footage at this stage.
He then grabs Adeagbo’s trouser leg before pulling himself onto his feet. The child then climbs onto a wooden stool and grabs Adeagbo’s trouser again.
The teaching assistant, who moved to the UK from Nigeria, where she was a teacher, in 2023, then lifts the child by his left upper arm and carries him across the room. At the end of the CCTV clip she grabs him by both arms and lifts him up.
The mum added: “It’s a massive thing for a parent, dropping your child off at nursery, you expect them to be safe, you never think they will come to any harm, that’s why you send them to nursery, to keep them safe, to give them the best.
“I remember when I got there he looked so sad. What she has done is wrong, you drop your child off to be safe. I chose that nursery because it seemed nice, the staff were nice. They’re looking after the youngest, most vulnerable children, what happened has made me so wary. Thankfully my son won’t remember it, but I’m the one who had to watch that CCTV.”
She added: “In the footage you can see he was happy and smiling at her. It was at the time when he was learning to walk.”
Adeagbo, who had a 17-month-old son at the time of the incident, said her intentions were to remove the “wet apron” with her other arm, while carrying him.
Prosecuting, Edward Handley, said Adeagbo lifted the boy “like a bag of rubbish for the night time collection” as she carried him across the room, knowing it was an inappropriate way of lifting a child.
Adeagbo accepted she was wrong to pick him up that way and that her apron was not removed during the act.
Caleb Suggitt, defending, told the court how Adeagbo worked at two prior nurseries employed by the agency before the incident and had worked with children in Nigeria, with no previous complaints.
He told the court: “Adeagbo is an experienced child care assistant. She now recognises it wasn’t the most appropriate way to pick up a child and shows obvious remorse. It was never her intention to harm a child.”
Magistrates found Adeagbo guilty of section 39 assault by beating, a charge she had denied. She is due to be sentenced at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on May 14.
The mum added: “We are relieved that the court has recognised that what happened to our son was wrong, but this remains a deeply sad situation.
“It’s vital that standards of care for children are upheld so that those entrusted with their care cannot be given free rein do what they see fit with our children.
“Leaving your children at nursery for the first time is a significant and emotional step. No family should have to fear that their child will come to harm. It’s shaken our confidence.”
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