Whistleblower: Full responses

BUTTONS DAY NURSERY RESPONSE

Dear Parents and Friends

We would like to thank so many of you who have shown support through this difficult time over the past few days. It is very much appreciated by all of us here. The 'Whistleblower' programme raised a number of serious issues which we address below but most importantly, we wish to reassure you that the safety and happiness of your children has always been of utmost importance to us. We will gladly discuss any concerns that you have.

We are still unsure why the BBC targeted the Buttons Hanwell nursery in this way. Our systems and procedures are well above national standards and as we have already indicated, we were approached in January 2008 by the BBC to be included on its own list of specialist nursery providers for BBC staff.

Allegation 1: The reporter (Ms. Willcocks) claimed that there here were no checks made to ensure her suitability; that her referee was 'not contacted'; and that no CRB check was obtained despite her being left in charge of children unsupervised.

Response: Our recruitment procedure includes a candidate attending at least two interviews and the completion of an interview questionnaire. New joiners then undergo an induction programme which is documented and signed off by the applicant. Ms Willcocks' signed copy is retained on our files.

The claim that Ms Willcocks' identity was not checked is misleading. For each and every potential employee, an enhanced CRB check is applied for and the preliminary step involves producing a key identity document such as a passport or driving licence. This standard procedure was followed for Ms Willcocks and a request for her CRB clearance was submitted in the first week of her employment. The response was received on 22nd August 2007 and is on file. This timeframe is not uncommon and we make the point that at all times throughout her time at the nursery, Ms Willcocks was on probation and therefore under the supervision of qualified members of staff.

Ms Willcocks specifically told us at interview that she had no prior nursery experience but would like to pursue an NVQ qualification in Childcare & Education. The Interview Questionnaire was annotated to reflect this. Lack of formal experience is not uncommon given the age and qualifications of the average applicant. Our nursery manager Sumita, made a number of attempts to contact Ms Willcocks' referee and left voice messages on the mobile phone number provided. The calls are listed on the nursery phone records for July/August 2007. It is now clear why these were not answered. The point that we raised with the BBC (but which was ignored) is that permanent placements are not offered without full reference checks and, of course, Ms Willcocks left the nursery after five weeks well before the end of her three-month probationary period.

It is against our strict policy to leave any trainee alone with children without supervision. Ms Willcocks did raise a concern about this at a review meeting, but the footage shown on the programme was selective and did not show Satnam's whole response. Ms Willcocks was actually told at the time that the nursery took any such allegation very seriously and this would be promptly investigated. However, Ms Willcocks left the nursery on the same day so there was no opportunity to give her feedback on the investigation or indeed to seek further information from her. The investigation found that if Ms Willcocks had been left alone with children at all, it could only have been for a very limited time towards the end of the day in the "house" part of the nursery. As you know, the house has several rooms on two floors. At the end of the day, children are transferred to the computer/library room on the first floor and when parents arrive to collect children a member of staff goes downstairs to answer the door. Following our investigation, steps were taken to prevent the possibility of any unqualified employee being left alone with the children at any time. A record of the meeting on 17th August and of the investigation and actions taken is on file.

Allegation 2: Unsuitable toys in the garden.

Response: Children are not permitted to play in the garden unsupervised and care is taken to ensure that toys are used safely and appropriately at all times. All toys are sourced from specialist nursery supply companies and are only used for the recommended age groups. On each occasion that the nursery has been inspected by Ofsted or The Ealing Early Years Partnership, no criticism or adverse comment has been raised as to the suitability of any of the toys in use.

Allegation 3: Glass in the garden.

Response: As you know, the garden is surrounded by the nursery buildings on one side and the back of the car park on the other (which is locked outside nursery hours) so there is no access from the street.

We have a twice-daily checklist for the garden completed at the beginning and the end of the day. It includes checking for any items that may be harmful to the children. Our records show that checks were carried out as usual over the time the undercover reporter worked at the nursery. Ms Willcocks says that she found glass in the digging area which she reported to another staff member. The piece of glass was removed immediately. It is not clear where it came from and we can state that this was the only occasion any glass has been found in the garden.

Allegation 4: Unsafe maintenance work - Injury to child.

Response : Where possible, every effort is taken for maintenance work to be carried out outside operating hours. Where this is not possible, we aim to restrict this to the quieter days (Mondays and Fridays) when the child:staff ratio is low. The radiator covers shown on the programme were in fact manufactured off-site and fitted within about half an hour. With the benefit of hindsight we recognise that we should have insisted to the suppliers that the job was undertaken outside nursery hours and apologise for this misjudgement.

The programme also records a member of staff reporting that the reason why the radiators covers were fitted was that a child had badly burnt his hand on a radiator - weeks earlier (approximately June 2007 time) and that an Ofsted inspection was imminent. We are astounded by this as the claim is entirely false. We have never had an incident where a child has burnt his or her hand badly on a hot radiator.

A decision to fit radiator covers in both the nursery schools was in fact taken in early 2007 though this is not an Ofsted requirement. We selected the supplier at the Ideal Home Exhibition in March 2007. They subsequently visited both nursery schools and issued quotes in April. We have all of the supporting documentation on file.

As regards the Ofsted inspection, Ofsted only carry out unannounced inspections so the suggestion that we were concerned about a pending Ofsted inspection is totally incorrect.

Allegation 5: Staff payments being below the Minimum Wage .

Response: We are recognised under the "Investor in People" accreditation which reviews our training and employment practices.

The programme did not make clear that Miss Willcocks was in fact engaged, under probation, as an NVQ2 Trainee in Childcare & Education, as was clearly stated in her signed offer of employment. We have been advised by our independent employment consultants that under The National Modern Apprenticeship Guidelines, nursery schools are not required to pay trainees the statutory Minimum Wage until the individual has been employed for a period of twelve months. We also work closely with a number of training providers which have advised us on the allowance that trainees may receive. Notwithstanding what was indicated in the programme, we actually pay our trainees above the minimum allowance specified once they have successfully completed the three-month probationary period. In fact, all trainees at the nursery who had successfully completed their probationary period in July 2007 were earning 50% more than the minimum allowance. This excludes other bonuses and incentives that the nursery school also offers its employees.

Allegation 6: Inappropriate attitude/behaviour from staff members.

Response : Staff are trained and have a detailed daily schedule of tasks and routines. These duties are posted in every section of the nursery on the Planning Board and cover all times between 8am and 6pm. Ms Willcocks went through a detailed induction procedure when she began at the nursery and this was signed by her on completion. There is no excuse for her or any other staff member claiming they do not know what to do.

It goes without saying that the nursery staff are expected to behave professionally at all times. Any staff member found to have behaved inappropriately is subject to our disciplinary procedure which could lead sanctions including dismissal.

Allegation 7: Ofsted Inspection out of date.

Response: The programme claims that the nursery has not been inspected by Ofsted since 2002. We have always received favourable inspection reports, most recently in February 2008. The previous Ofsted inspection took place in January 2005. We are also reviewed several times each year by the Ealing Early Years Partnership Organisation which has at no time raised any criticism or complaint about the nursery.

Next Steps

1. We acknowledge that the programme identified areas of concern. We are committed to providing a safe and happy environment for your children. With immediate effect, Julie Parhar has become Nursery Manager of Buttons, Hanwell. She will be on-site daily to ensure the nursery maintains the high standard of childcare & education you expect.

2. We have changed our procedures to ensure that no trainees can start work at the nursery before reference checks have been fully completed. Given the time period required to obtain a full CRB check, new joiners will only be allowed to work in the open plan part of the nursery, pending receipt of a clear CRB certificate.

3. A comprehensive review of all garden toys will be undertaken and a new system will be implemented to separate age-specific toys.

4. All future maintenance work will be undertaken outside nursery opening hours save where emergency work (such as heating breakdown) is required. In such cases, the area of work will be sectioned-off using appropriate barriers.

5. Four members of staff identified as possibly having behaved in an improper manner in the Whistleblower programme have been suspended pending a full investigation and will be subject to appropriate disciplinary procedures.

We have spoken to a number of parents and exchanged e-mails also over the past few days, however, due to press enquiries and the urgency of providing a detailed response to you, we apologise if you have been unable to reach us in person. We are happy to discuss any of these issues and are planning a forum to address parents' queries within the next week. Meanwhile we remain committed to providing safe, dependable and happy day care for your children.

Kind regards

Satnam & Julie Parhar

JUST LEARNING RESPONSE
Many parents will not have recognised their Just Learning Nursery from the BBC programme's portrayal. The 'Whistleblower' programme focused on poor practice within the childcare sector, Just Learning does not condone any such poor practice, we are committed to providing high quality childcare and education in our nurseries. Our staff are dedicated, kind, caring and professional.
Where the programme found unacceptable practice we have acted. The programme (5/3/2008) vindicated company's closure decision and confirmed that senior management do ask the correct questions of even the newest members of staff in nurseries.
All parents and staff can see (below) what we sent to the BBC in advance of the programme.
The BBC commented that no one from management was willing to appear on camera this is not true as we were prepared to co-operate with them if we were allowed to see the video footage of the allegations that they made. They did not make footage available to us although they were prepared to give selected footage in advance to media outlets.
Just Learning provided a full written statement to the BBC, and a professional broadcast quality TV interview. The BBC edited our written reply in the programme. The BBC declined to use the interview because they claimed it did not answer their points and it was poor quality. Viewers will note it was better quality than their own undercover film. We believe the interview answered the questions and invite you to judge for yourself using the link below. You will also note that we answer other issues put to us by the BBC but not subsequently broadcast, we believe these were not sustainable.
We intend to use the programme positively by taking fresh actions to further improve the implementation of our policies. We have instigated a full review of recruitment across all our nurseries and re-iterated our policies to all managers as a precaution. There is no suggestion that our policies have been breached at any other nursery. The company is actively considering changes to its internal 'whistleblower' processes to ensure staff can make valid points directly to the senior management. We will review our use of sandpits, however, having now seen the programme, we have been able to establish that the alleged choking hazard was not in a sandpit. The failure of the BBC to provide this footage has seriously hindered our investigation into this matter.
To view Just Learning's interview with Jonathan Bell, Just Learning's managing director click on the link below:
http://www.broadbandtvchannel.co.uk/clip.aspclipid=257

OFSTED RESPONSE

Judging by its press release it appears that BBC Whistleblower is preparing to broadcast a programme including factual inaccuracies, despite Ofsted having pointed these out well in advance.

The programme misrepresents Ofsted's role, the law and the rules governing how we inspect.

Ofsted makes 70,000 visits a year to check children and young people are safe, healthy and happy when they are being looked after outside the family home. We are always seeking ways of improving inspection and regulation for the benefit of children.

Our inspections of nurseries and childminders are rigorous and the vast majority of our inspectors are highly skilled, professionals who do a good job. 471 more childcare establishments were rated inadequate in 2007 than the year before.

Our policy of unannounced inspections keeps most nurseries and childminders on their toes. They know an inspector will call within the current cycle set by the government.

Parents have choices over where to place their children. Ofsted inspection reports are available on our website to help them. Childminders know that a good report is important to their business.

Most adopt our recommendations quickly. But where they don't improve, we take action. The nursery at the centre of this television programme shut as a direct result of the "inadequate" rating we gave it following a monitoring visit in December 2007.

Ofsted is independent. We report without fear or favour. Our reports are often critical of government initiatives and we make no apology for that.

However, we cannot be present in every nursery, every day, and providers have a legal responsibility to the children they care for. When we are told about breaches of national standards we will always act immediately. We would urge the public to let us know if they have concerns.

Ends

Turning to Whistleblower's allegations in detail:

1...approving childcare facilities that should not be operating...

Ofsted's inspection regime for childcare is the most rigorous in Western Europe.

We are getting more rigorous, not less. At the end of 2005 3% of settings were judged to be inadequate; last year it rose to 4%.

When Ofsted took over the regulation of childcare in 2001, 59% failed to meet the national standards. We demanded changes and the following year only 1% failed to meet the standards.

There are almost 26,000 nurseries in England and 66,000 childminders. We do 70,000 visits each year to check they are up to scratch. Where they don't improve, we take stronger action, which can include closure.

Our inspectors cannot physically be everywhere all the time. The day-to-day responsibility for safeguarding children rests with providers who are legally responsible for complying with government regulations.

2. ...Ofsted is failing to adequately regulate the childcare industry...

Inspectors have a whole day to inspect a single childminder, the same as for a small primary school, and up to two days to check a day care establishment, the same period of time as for a large school.

We did broadly the same number of inspections in 2006 as in 2007: 29,857 in 2006 and 32,150 in 2007. The small rise reflected our quick response to an increase in complaints.

3. ...political connections could have influenced Ofsted's decisions...

The BBC has provided no evidence to support this allegation. We report without fear or favour: many of our judgements are not popular with government, for example. The chief inspector's annual report demonstrates our forthright evaluation of government initiatives.

4. ..Uncovers Ofsted documents that indicate the Just Learning nursery in Camborne should have been closed following the accidental death of a child in its care and critical inspection reports, but was saved from closure due to concerns about the implications for Michael Fallon MP. Michael Fallon, the Conservative MP for Sevenoaks, was the Managing Director of the nursery at the time and the documents state: ''If we cancel...automatically disqualified.''

That centre has now closed, giving an adverse Ofsted verdict of ''inadequate'' as a reason.

The quotation is from our staff's notes on the case. But it is taken completely out of context from a discussion with no mention whatsoever of ''saving'' Just learning from closure. It does not support the BBC allegation. Directors of the nursery were dealt with in the same way as any other childcare company executives in the same situation and in line with established Ofsted policy.

It is perfectly proper for staff, when contemplating the possibility that the police might find Mr Fallon's firm negligent, to prepare for what would have to happen next. If the police had found negligence and Ofsted had cancelled the registration we would have been obliged to inform the company directors that they have the right under the law to apply for a waiver of their disqualification. This simply means that where the vast majority of nurseries run by a firm cause us no concern, as was the case with Just Learning, they can continue to operate. In the event, the police ruled there was no negligence and so there weren't sufficient legal grounds for disqualification.

5. Imogen Willcocks...is employed to look after young children under the age of five by two nurseries in Britain...A failure to make Criminal Record and Reference Checks...Adult to Child Ratios Are Not Met.Health and Safety compromised. No training....

These are serious matters, and they are wholly unacceptable. It is, of course, the legal responsibility of the nursery's management, not Ofsted, to comply with these rules and ensure information from the Criminal Records Bureau is obtained before they decide a member of staff is suitable and able to be left in charge of children unsupervised. We expect nursery managers to act responsibly. If we are informed about breaches we always act immediately. We are surprised that the BBC has waited four months before informing us.

6. ..infrequent inspections...

Ofsted's inspection regime for childcare is the most rigorous in Western Europe. We inspect childcare on a three year cycle. But it would be counterproductive if nurseries and childminders knew we would turn up on the third anniversary of the last inspection. Instead, providers do not know when we are going to arrive. All they know is that it will happen within the inspection cycle. We inspect within a time period set by the Government, not on a specific date. Ofsted took over the duty of inspecting childcare in 2001. Since then all have been inspected at least twice. We are on course to complete our third cycle by the end of March 2008.

7. Anybody can approach Ofsted, talk a good talk and really become registered (as a childminder)

By law, Ofsted cannot refuse to register someone on the grounds that they have not yet completed the training and first aid requirements set out in the National Standards. They do, however, have to be completed within six months of registration.

When the first visit takes place, applicants face robust procedures before becoming Ofsted-registered including a suitability test for the applicant, any assistants and any other adults living or working on the premises and checks on whether houses, for example, have been suitably adapted.
8. ...Ofsted reports are not worth the paper they are printed on... Inspectors will go out to undertake an inspection and are literally skimming the surface....

Far from skimming the surface, more childcare is being rated as inadequate, not less. In 2005-6 some 3 % of nurseries and childminders were deemed inadequate (1,766). That rose to 4 % the following year (2,237).

9. ...I've taken a great risk talking to you but I don't believe and many of my colleagues don't believe that we protect children any more....

Our highly skilled inspectors know we expect them to produce rigorous and robust evaluations. Most feel a duty to the public and the people they inspect and take great pride in reaching a very high standard.
10....We are told consistently and constantly ''if you go in and you don't see a problem, don't look for one. Get in there, have a quick look and get out.....targets take priority over the safeguarding of children...
Our inspectors have a whole day to inspect a childminder, so this is simply not the case. The time available has not changed, nor have we changed how we inspect. Inspectors are carefully trained and supported to meet the demands of the job. We make no apology for expecting the highest standards from all our inspectors. The views of the individual, if quoted accurately, are certainly not representative.

MARK WARNER RESPONSE

It is company policy that all childcare staff employed by Mark Warner must supply two references and that we complete and submit a form to check their criminal record.
From the information given to us by the BBC ahead of the programme, there were clearly two occasions when we failed to do this.
That is completely unacceptable and we apologise for this. We have now reviewed and strengthened our procedures for hiring staff so this does not happen again.
We take the safety and security of children in our care extremely seriously.
That's why we were one of the first holiday companies in the UK to introduce criminal record checks for childcare staff, even though this has never been a legal requirement for staff working overseas.
It is also the reason why we replaced our very popular room listening service with a drop in crèche.
We recognised that it wasn't possible to provide room listening and guarantee that there would never be any safety or security issues of any kind. So, as a responsible holiday company, we took action and switched to drop in crèches.
Guests who have been on a Mark Warner holiday consistently tell us that the quality of our childcare is very high.
89 out of the 93 nannies we currently employ have a professional childcare qualification. The other four have proven childcare experience. And every single one of our watersports instructors have a professional qualification.
Over the past 25 years, we have taken over 150,000 families on holiday and won several awards for the quality of our service. We are determined to maintain that record.

Questions & Answers to issues raised in the BBC programme "Whistleblower" broadcast on March 5th 2008.

Q1. What is your reaction to the BBC Whistleblower programme?

A1. We're disappointed that, on two occasions, we let our customers down by failing to properly follow our established procedures for obtaining references before staff started working for us. That shouldn't have happened and we apologise for this. As a result, we have reviewed and strengthened our procedures for recruiting childcare staff, to stop this ever happening again.

Q2. What is your procedure for vetting childcare staff and how have you strengthened it following this programme?

A2. Prospective childcare staff must provide two references and, where relevant, original professional childcare qualification certificates before being offered a job. They must also provide personal information to enable us to submit a Criminal Bureau check. The two incidents highlighted by the BBC show that these procedures were not followed and so we have retrained our recruitment staff to ensure that this does not happen again.

Q3. Why did you let staff begin work without having received their CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) forms back?

A3. There is no legal requirement for any holiday company operating overseas to obtain a CRB check for their staff and the majority don't. These checks are required in other sectors, like the NHS and teaching, for staff who work with children. However, at Mark Warner, we decided five yeras ago to voluntarily introduce these checks for our nannies and we were one of the first holiday companies to do so. Unfortunately, we have no control over the length of time it takes for the check to be run and sent back to us. We would like the process to be quicker, but even companies and organisations legally required to run CRB checks face the same problem.

Q4. Your room listening service was criticised in the programme. What's your response to that?

A4. Our room listening service has always been very popular with guests. Unfortunately we stopped offering this service in 2007 because it was impossible to provide room listening and guarantee guests that there would never be any safety or security issues. So, as a responsible holiday company, we took action and replaced room listening with supervised evening crèche facilities at all our resorts.

Q5. The programme suggested that your nannies don't receive any training.

A5. To be able to join Mark Warner, all prospective childcare staff must already have a professional childcare qualification - such as an NNEB or NVQ - or a proven track record of working with children. After they start work, all childcare staff follow an induction programme which takes them through our own internal procedures such as fire and evacuation; lost child procedures; health & hygiene, as well as an explanation of their specific role and responsibilities.

Q.6 The programme suggested that children taking part in watersports aren't always supervised by staff who are competent in the water.

A.6 When children are involved in any beachfront activity, our professionally qualified watersports staff are responsible for their safety. In a typical summer, we employ over 200 of these staff and every single one has a qualification in watersports and life saving. Their qualifications are from internationally recognised sporting bodies, such as the Royal Yachting Association and British Water Ski Federation.

Q.7 The programme suggested that your childcare is not "award winning". What is your response to that?

A.7 We have consistently received very high ratings from guests for the standard of childcare at our resorts. We have won an award from the children's baby charity Tommys for "Most Parent Friendly Tour Operator" as well as an award from Babygoes2.com and Ace Magazine awarded us a "Best for Families" award three years on the run for our resort - Lakitira in Greece.

Q.8 The programme mentioned the ratio of nannies to children. What is the ratio of nannies to children at your resorts?

A.8 In the UK, the Government's "Sure Start" guidelines on childcare state that the ratio should be one nanny to three Under 2's, one nanny to four 2 year olds and one nanny to eight 3 to 7 year olds. At Mark Warner, we not only comply with these ratios but, in some cases, better them.

Q.9 The programme claimed that staff in your resort in Egypt are working illegally and Mark Warner is therefore breaking the law?

A.9 The process of securing a work visa for staff in Egypt is lengthy and can take eight to nine months. We work closely with the Ministry of Labour to secure working visas for staff and the Egyptian authorities are aware that staff have to wait for their working visas to be processed.

Q.10 The programme was critical of Mark Warner, so what reassurance can you now offer to customers?

A.10 Over the past 25 years, we've taken hundreds of thousands of families on holiday. We've built our business on offering parents high quality childcare and a choice of first class resorts, with many guests writing to us each year to compliment us on the services we provided. We're disappointed that, on two occasions, the correct procedures for vetting and employing staff weren't followed. This is why we have already retrained staff and put in place measures to stop this happening again. We'd like to reassure customers that the safety, security and enjoyment of their holidays is our number one priority and always will be.